


After Fall

by tyoushiro



Category: Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII Series, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: F/M, Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-01
Updated: 2016-08-11
Packaged: 2018-01-08 00:23:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 54
Words: 76,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1126151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tyoushiro/pseuds/tyoushiro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The world is reborn after the conclusion of Lightning Returns, but the former l'cie find themselves exactly where they were after they defeated Orphan. The world before them is filled with endless possibilities and the promise of normal lives, until fate intervenes once more... Major spoilers for FF13-1 and 2, minor spoilers (so far) for FF13-3. Mostly platonic relationships.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First Year, Hope's POV

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: So while I was sick with the flu, I went and replayed FFXIII and FFXIII-2 (and went and preordered FFXIII-3). And while I suffered through a high-grade fever, this idea popped into my head: what happens after FFXIII-3 when Lightning saves everyone and the world is returned to 'normal'? This is just my attempt to show what I think life would be like for the heroes after, through Hope's POV.

**After Fall: The First Year**

_Hey mom. It's been a while since I last spoke to you, sorry for that. I was going through a lot, you know, trying to cope with the fact that you wouldn't be around any more to protect me, and then being made a l'cie..._

_It was terrifying. I thought I was gonna die so many times, and even though I was scared, I was kinda okay with it. Because it meant I'd be able to see you again, and I miss you. A lot. I blamed Snow for your death back then, even though I guess it wasn't really his fault. But I didn't want to blame you for trying to protect me, and I couldn't handle the guilt of every awful thing I'd said to you when you were alive. Those memories haunted me, and even now, I still regret so much of it..._

_But that was mostly the past. When we came to Gran Pulse, and I really thought I'd never make it, I received an eidolon of my own named Alexander. Lightning and Snow were the ones who convinced me that Alexander represented the strength within me, a strength that I must've got from you. It gave me the courage to go on, to try to get stronger, to do what needed to be done._

_Along the way, I made really good friends. Sazh taught me how to fix this mechanical robot thing that was apparently Vanille's pet five hundred years ago, and Fang showed me how to hunt. When things really got tough in a battle, I always knew that Lightning and Snow had my back. A few times when I was injured, Snow even carried me on his back - you know, the way you used to when I was really little. Kinda like I always wanted dad to do, but he never did. I guess I'm trying to say that Snow feels as guilty about your death as I thought he should back then, and he's doing his best to make up for it._

_I never imagined that we'd end up fighting Orphan. I can honestly say, to this day I've never been so... overwhelmed. I mean, fal'cie on Cocoon were always so useful, you know? They gave us food and water, they protected us. I never imagined there were fal'cie who wanted to destroy humanity. But apparently, Orphan didn't want to exist. He felt abandoned by the Maker, Bhunivelze, and like a kid throwing a tantrum, he thought killing the inhabitants of Cocoon would bring his erst-while creator back. We fought him, and we barely won._

_Then Fang and Vanille sacrificed themselves, turning to crystal to save Cocoon from falling to Gran Pulse._

_And don't worry, mom, but for a while there, the rest of us turned to crystal, too. It's what happens to l'cie who complete their focus, and defeating Orphan had been ours. But Etro, the daughter of Bhunivelze, took pity on us._

_I'm not sure why, but I was happy to wake up to the sight of Gran Pulse, the place that made me what I am today. I was really happy when Lightning and the others decided to stay on Gran Pulse - actually, we helped build the first living village in over five centuries. It's called New Bodhum, and it looks so much like Bodhum did back then... Lightning's kinda like our mayor, she takes care of all the important things like telling the soldiers where to patrol, and figuring out what to do when disaster strikes. Serah, Lightning's sister, takes care of the kids in the village. Most of them are like me, with one or both parents killed during the thirteen days prior to the Fall, and even though they'd deny it to her face, they all love Serah. She's really great with them, but when she gets angry, she reminds me a lot of her sister. Really scary._

_Snow and Serah haven't married yet. They say they're waiting until life gets more stable, which I guess is understandable. Snow usually hangs out with Sazh, fixing the mechas around the village, or helping to clear out ruins that are found pretty frequently out here. Sometimes I go with him, especially to the ruins near Paddra. They're really neat - some of the pillars are as tall as Carbuncle was! The last time we went, I found this really cool object near a statue. It kinda looks like a ball made of hexagonal plates, and apparently it used to be called an 'oracle drive'. We haven't figured out how to use it, or if it's even operational at all, but I'm really excited to get further into the ruins._

_I know you're probably worried about me - I know Lightning is. She keeps telling me I need to spend more time with kids my age. It's tough though, being the only fourteen-year-old in the village, and the only one other than Dajh under twenty who has experience as a l'cie. Dajh doesn't have as hard a time as I do at making friends, but then he's apparently always been a pretty outgoing kid. I'm happier playing in the dirt looking for relics than hanging out with my peers, I guess._

_It's hard to believe that tomorrow is my birthday. It's almost been a year since we defeated Orphan, can you believe it? A lot of people have moved to Gran Pulse, but we still haven't heard anything about dad. I guess that means he's with you, or busy with whatever work he's obsessing over now. It doesn't bother me much, any more. I have my l'cie family who look after me, and who I try to take care of as best as I can. I just hope that Lightning isn't the one making the meal tomorrow, she's really... not that good at it. Not that Snow or Sazh are much better, but Serah's probably the best cook in the village. Or at least, best at making food that I like. Though I really miss the croquets you used to make for my birthdays, mom. As much as I try to tell Serah about how they tasted, she never quite gets them the way you always did. But she does her best, and they're not bad._

_Sometimes, the others get the same way. It's different for them, though, because the ones they're missing, the foods they're remembering, have been gone a lot longer than one year. Sazh's wife has been gone for almost four years, but he and Dajh always talk about how delicious her cakes were, and Serah and Lightning both talk about their dad's stir fry like it was a five-star meal. Snow never talks about food he misses - he only ever says how much better even Lightning's cooking is compared to the Sanctum orphanage where he grew up. I guess compared to that, the rest of us were lucky to have food and loved ones to miss._

_There is one thing that Snow suggested, back when we started building New Bodhum, something that I'm really grateful Lightning agreed with. It's this... well, it's not really a cemetery. More like a memorial. It took a while to find a stone large enough to carve into a proper slab, and a few months later the village raised it on the hill near the crystal pillar holding up Cocoon. It's got the names of those we know were killed during those thirteen days, including yours, mom. It's supposed to be a reminder, that even without fal'cie intervention, humanity will continue to thrive. There's even plans for a festival for the anniversary of Orphan's defeat - Serah and the children of the village have spent weeks making candles and costumes for it, and Sazh has been working with the other villagers to make fireworks. I hope wherever you are, you'll be able to see them with us._

* * *

"It's getting kinda late, kid."

I nod silently, and lay the wildflowers I'd brought with me at the base of the stone where my mother's name is carved. I don't need to turn around to know that Snow is standing behind me, his coat billowing in the early summer wind. I'm a little surprised when he comes to stand beside me, and lays two seashells beside my own offering to the dead.

"Are their names on it, too?" I ask. "Your parents?"

"Nah, never knew who they were." Snow replies. He touches a name several inches above my mom's - a name I don't recognize at all. "But there's one or two names that belong to people who were good friends. Good people who shouldn't be forgotten."

I read the name silently as Snow turns to leave. "People like 'Noel Kreiss'?"

"Yeah." Snow's shoulders stiffen slightly, then slowly relax as I fall in step with him. He puts an arm around my shoulder, then ruffles my hair with his free hand. "People just like Noel."

* * *

 


	2. Serah's Lament, Serah's POV

_It's hard to believe it's almost been a year since I was made a l'cie, and then saved - first by Etro, then by my sister. It seems like a lifetime since you agreed to stay in Valhalla with Yuel, and even longer since we solved the paradox timelines, and I died in your arms. Those days are gone, little more than dreams in this world. But we still miss you, Noel._

_Well, those of us who remember you miss you. Some days, I turn around and just expect you to be there, even though I know you can't be. Even Snow misses you, though I think it's because you reminded him so much of himself. Claire never says much about you, but she smiles whenever I talk about the adventures we had. I wish you'd gotten a chance to know each other better._

_Hope... Hope doesn't remember anything about those times at all. Claire thinks it's because Bhunivelze might have damaged Hope's memory when he possessed his body, but Snow thinks it's because it was all too much for Hope's mind to handle. Maybe they're both right, I don't know. All I know is that Hope doesn't smile the way he did when we met him in 10 AF, and he doesn't laugh like he did in 400 AF, either. He's usually very quiet, even when Snow and the archaeologists go digging around the Paddra ruins. It's like he subconsciously remembers a time when that was what he did, that was where he went, but whenever he returns home, he always looks so... lost. It's hard to reconcile the fourteen-year-old version with the twenty-seven year-old Hope you and I knew._

_Speaking of which, his birthday is tomorrow. We wanted to do something nice for him, but I'm not sure if it's enough. I mean, there's not a lot we can do right now - both Cocoon and Gran Pulse are still recovering from the Fall - but I'm cooking his favorite meals, and we all pitched in to buy him an upgraded boomerang. Somehow, though, I don't think he'll want to part with the old one. He's a lot more sentimental than Claire and Sazh give him credit for, and even Snow said we'd have been better off buying him an archaeologist's toolkit. Between you and me? Claire doesn't want Hope to go into archaeology. I think she's afraid he'll figure out a way to power the oracle drives they've started to uncover - and she doesn't want him to get hurt if they reveal the alternate timelines. She'd keep him fourteen forever if she could, I think, and I'm not sure if it's for his sake or for hers. I know she feels guilty about what happened to me - to all of us, really - but Hope should be able to follow his dreams, even if it does lead to heartache. If you were here, I think you'd agree, but then... if you were here, things would be so much... stranger? Better?_

_I keep thinking it would be nice to have you here - and not just for Hope's sake, but for everyone's. I can imagine you on the beach, playing with my students. I bet you would've taught them to hunt, and to fish, and when you thought no one else was paying attention, I'm sure you'd have taught them how to play tricks on Snow. That just seems like something you would do, and I can picture Claire's and Hope's amusement if you were here to really pull it off._

_And you remember Sazh, don't you, from Serendipity? He's here, too, and he sort of remembers you - though not too fondly, it seems. I'm not positive, but I think he might have a small grudge against you - you know, when I died? I don't blame you, Noel, and I'm sure he knows it's all over and done with, but Sazh is really... very protective. Like the father I barely remember having. It's probably for the best that you aren't here, though, because I'm sure Sazh would give you a hard time, whether or not you deserved it. You're probably happier in Valhalla, and safer as well._

_Oh, I forgot to tell you that Gadot and Lebreau are having a child! Lebreau swears it's a girl that's due to arrive any day - it'll be the first birth we've had in New Bodhum. Everyone's excited, though Gadot seems a bit anxious since we don't really have any doctors nearby. Hopefully Claire and I can manage to get Lebreau through it, though I really wish Vanille and Fang were here too. Somehow, I have a feeling they'd know exactly what to do._

_You probably remember Yuj - you know, the guy with blue hair? He's still as fashionable as he ever was, but lately he's taken to flirting with Claire. I don't think she's interested, but he's incredibly persistent. He'd be good for her, maybe he'd help her be more relaxed. But maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part, not wanting her to be alone forever. I've asked her about it a few times - her love life, that is - but she says she's just happy raising all of us village brats. I guess that's understandable, too. I mean, she was a goddess for a while there, and I guess we all must've felt like her children at that time. Maybe that's why she won't encourage Yuj..._

_As for my love life... well, Snow and I haven't gotten married yet, but it's on the books! We wanted to wait until things had calmed down after the building of the village, and after the first anniversary of Orphan's fall. But in three months, we're getting married. Claire's already agreed to perform the ceremony, since she is New Bodhum's mayor, and Yuj helped me design a dress. It's going to be a small, simple ceremony on the beach, but everyone that matters will be there - everyone but you. It makes me a little sad, thinking my best friend won't be there on my wedding day, but at least you have Yuel. She makes you happy, and that has to be enough I guess._

_I guess I'm having the same problem Hope is, ultimately. I mean, I've always gotten along with the other villagers, but it's hard to connect with people who've never known the pain of being a l'cie, or the struggle of battle in order to protect the ones they love. Other than Snow and Claire, you and Hope are my closest friends. Maybe that will change someday in the future, but for now all I know is that... I miss having you to talk to._

* * *

I can't hold back the few tears that fall on the page I've written on in my journal. They smudge the ink, making several words practically illegible, not that it matters much. The only eyes that will ever read these pages are my own, but I don't know if I'll ever bring myself to read through it again. I write to remind myself that it happened - that Noel existed, and that for a short time, even though things were wrong, we were content. I guess he was kind of like the brother Claire and I'd never had, and he was probably the closest thing Hope had ever had to a best friend.

"Thinking about Noel again?" Claire asks.

I wipe away the other tears before they have a chance to fall and ruin any more of my writing.

"Yeah. I know it's stupid, but I... I just..."

"It's not stupid to want your best friend around. Especially on important days." Claire wraps her arms around my shoulders and rests her cheek on the top of my head. It's still unusual for her to show so much affection, but she's trying harder these days.

"Do you think he'll know?" I ask, swallowing thickly.

"From Valhalla, everything is visible - even the intangible things like love." Claire states slowly. "I think he knows how much you miss him, for you and for Hope's sake as well. At the risk of sounding cliche, I think if anyone could possibly 'be there in spirit', Noel would definitely be there."

A sob escapes my throat, because it's really what I want most - for Noel to just show up, out of nowhere, like nothing had ever changed. But I know my sister is right: Noel can, and probably will, watch over us from Valhalla.

"Come on." Claire reaches over my shoulder and shuts my journal decisively. "Everyone's going to wake up soon, we need to make breakfast."

I nod quickly and stand, feeling a bit better when Claire thumbs away the rest of my tears. She smiles warmly at me, then kisses my forehead - it's her way of saying 'everything will be okay.' I let her take my hand and lead me towards the kitchen, then I start to gather the ingredients to make a breakfast large enough to feed the four of us. As we stand side-by-side in the kitchen, chopping vegetables and beating eggs, I take a deep breath.

"Thank you, for everything." I murmur.

Claire doesn't say anything, but then maybe having lived in Valhalla has left her with residual omnipotence - she must know I'm thanking Noel.

* * *

 


	3. Hope's Birthday, Snow's POV

_Nora, if you're out there and you can hear my thoughts, I want you to know that you can be proud of your son. He's really grown strong in the time I've known him - stronger in some ways than I have._

_You see, back then he was a scared kid who'd lost his mom. But somehow, he grew from the experience. He tried to kill me, just so you know, but in the end we worked everything out. Sometimes when I catch him off-guard, he'll even joke about it... though it doesn't happen very often. I think he still feels a bit guilty about it sometimes, but it could be that we still haven't found out what - if anything - happened to Bartholomew. Kid's got a lot on his mind, and when you throw in the fact that he's turning fifteen well, it makes for a pretty moody teenager._

_I was one not-too-long ago myself, so I understand. Lightning... not so much. I mean, she understands that he's a moody teenager alright enough, but she tends to oversimplify dealing with him sometimes. Like, I understand why she doesn't want him down at the Paddra ruins - all of us who remember the alternate timelines feel the same way, really. But how can she expect me to control where he goes? I keep trying to tell her, the more we say he can't go there, the harder he's going to try to keep going there. But apparently Lightning was an obedient girl in one of her past lives, because she never seems to understand. It's really straining her relationship with Hope, and I gotta say, I'm not looking forward to the day when he finally snaps at her. Etro only knows what Lightning will do when that happens._

_Uh, sorry. I don't want you to worry about Hope, I mean, Lightning's trying her best by him. But you know how kids can be - stubborn, always testing boundaries. I know I was like that. Still am, for the most part, but Serah says it's one of my charms._

_And Serah's kinda like Hope's aunt, I guess, since Lightning's something like his adopted mom. I guess that makes me his future uncle, though he's more like a kid brother, you know? I guess it's a weird family dynamic, but then again, all of us former l'cie are something like an odd family anyway. We even have regular family dinners once a week, when Sazh and Dajh join us. It's a little strange, I guess, because they only live in the house next door, but Lightning says consistency is good for Hope. Maybe she's right._

_Anyway, I'm trying to teach Hope everything I know about mechs - though I'll be the first to admit that Sazh is better than I am at fixing them. Trouble is, he's so damn busy trying to fix everything - when he's not working on the machines in our village, he travels to the nearby villages to work on theirs. So I'm kinda standing in, until either Sazh catches a break or retires, whichever comes first. I think it's going well so far - Hope's a pretty quick study. I think he's gonna surpass me sooner than I hoped, don't know what Lightning's gonna want me to do with him then. She's already mad enough at me for taking him to the ruins in the first place._

_Sorry, getting off track again._

_Have you met Noel in Valhalla yet? He was pretty close with Hope and Serah during that whole mess with the paradoxes. In fact, he saved Hope a lot - once from himself when Hope created this proto-fal'cie mechanical nightmare, and about a hundred years later from an assassination attempt. Yeah, even in those other worlds, Hope was too smart and precocious for his own good - and I mean that in a good way. It's why I really think Lightning's got her hands full, and honestly, it's gonna get worse before it gets better. If Hope's half as stubborn now as he was in those worlds, he's gonna go far. Probably a lot farther than Lightning's comfortable with. I wonder what you'd say to her, if you could talk to her and she could hear you? Then again, knowing Lightning and everything that's happened, maybe you did and she could. Maybe that's why she's so protective of him, because you asked her to be._

_Despite it all - you know, the angry teenage outbursts and mood-swings and stuff - Hope's really a great kid. He talks about you all the time, about the food you used to make and the places you'd gone together when he was little. I kinda wish he had a picture of you to put on his desk, because I think it'd make him feel a little better. But any picture that he might've had was lost when Cocoon almost fell - Ragnarok really did a number on Palumpolum, not that we've said anything to Hope about it. Sometimes I think he knows, but he never really says, and no one wants to push the subject, ya know?_

_Though I did find him at the Purge memorial last night. It's this big stone we erected near the pillar holding up Cocoon, and it's got all the names of people known to have been killed during those thirteen fateful days. Well, it's got a few other names too - names that should be remembered, even if no one will remember who they were or what they did. But yours is on it, too. Last night, as far as I know, was the first time Hope went there - I guess to talk to you. The flowers he took there for you? They're really hard to find out here, most of 'em usually get trampled by the Adamantoise or crushed in the spring rains. He must've really looked all over the steppe for those flowers..._

_But that's just the kind of person he is. Most of the kids his age think he's quiet and kinda stuck-up, but really, he's very thoughtful. He just has trouble relating to those kids, because they don't have a clue what he went through - what we all went through. But even after all the whispers and the gossip, he never talks bad about any of them. Maybe they'll understand when they're older. I hope so, for his sake._

* * *

"Happy birthday, Hope!" Serah exclaims, hugging Hope quickly as Lightning sets the small cake on the table in front of him.

"Thanks everyone." Hope says. His smile falters, and even though we all see it, no one says a word about it.

We all understand.

* * *

 


	4. The Anniversary, Lightning's POV

_Etro. One year has passed since that day you gave us your blessing, freeing us from the crystal stasis we achieved after defeating Orphan. Yet it seems like lifetimes have passed since that day - I remember the futures and pasts of Valhalla as clearly as I live and breathe today. And so, even though you are no longer the keeper of order, this day we honor your memory._

_It's difficult to imagine what this world would have been like if you had not chosen us. Even though Fang and Vanille still sleep within the pillar, I know that we are all grateful for having the opportunity to know them, to understand them. We miss them every day, as surely as the world misses you. Their names rest along with yours and countless others carved into the memorial stone._

_I want to thank you, for giving my sister back to me. Although at that time it wasn't for very long, I appreciate the mercy that you tried to show us. It wasn't in vain - Serah and I are together in this world, surrounded by those who matter most to us. Even though physically apart, Fang, Vanille and Noel are with us in our thoughts every day. Vanille more than the others, I think, because despite her lies, her cheerful personality is greatly missed in times of trouble here. Like last week, when Lebreau went into labor._

_I think I was more afraid than Serah was - I remembered all too well the stories on Cocoon of women dying in childbirth, or of babies stillborn with the umbilical cord wrapped tightly around their fragile necks. Serah had no such recollection, and she was very encouraging and soothing for Lebreau. I remember wishing Vanille had been there - I would've been too busy trying to ignore her to be focused on everything that could have gone wrong._

_It was an intense event, to say the least. When it was all over, there was a new eight-pound baby girl to be announced to the world - Gadot was grinning the whole night, showing her off like he used to show off his skills. They named her Nora, supposedly after their little group, but I have a feeling it was more to do with Hope's mother. Especially since they named Snow and Serah as godparents._

_I think you'd be amused to see Snow with the baby - I know I am. Every time she starts to cry, his eyes get this wide, wild look in them and he desperately tries to hand her off to anyone else. Serah's gotten pretty irritated with him when he does that, no doubt she's thinking of any children they might have in the future. I'd be concerned if I was her, too - what good is a man if he won't even try to hold his kids?_

_Hope doesn't want much to do with Nora - I don't know if it's because of her name, or just because she's so small. He always seems like he's afraid of dropping her, or hurting her, even though Lebreau and Gadot have tried to assure him that the baby's fine. Usually, if he knows Lebreau is bringing the baby, he and Snow somehow find a way to sneak off to the Paddra ruins._

_I swear they do it just to annoy me. It's bad enough that Serah and I recall what happened in the alternate timeline at Paddra and the subsequent paradoxes, but Snow knows and still lets Hope go there, time and time again! If Hope truly doesn't remember anything from the other timelines or Nova Chrysalia, I don't want him getting hurt by what he might find in the ruins. I've told Snow to stop it so many times..._

_Sazh tells me I'm being too hard on him - meaning Snow. I'm the one who decided to take responsibility for Hope, so I should be the one telling Hope what I want and don't want him to do. I know he has a point, but I... I hate when Hope is angry with me. He looks at me with that same anger he used to aim at Snow, back when he blamed him for Nora Estheim's death. Every time I see it, I think a piece of my heart breaks. What happened to that lost fourteen-year-old from Palumpolum, the one who just wanted to be accepted and able to keep up with the grown-ups? I miss that Hope a lot, probably as much as Serah misses the twenty-four-year-old Hope she'd known with Noel. The Hope we have now reminds me too much of the Hope who'd been possessed by Bhunivelze - all cold distance and residual anger. I hope he grows out of it - quickly._

* * *

Fireworks explode over the Archylte steppes, illuminating the night sky surrounding Cocoon on its crystal throne. To my left, Serah and Snow are sitting shoulder-to-shoulder on the outspread blanket we share, and to my right, Sazh sits with Dajh in his lap. Hope is laying stretched out on his back at our feet, staring up as the lights flare brightly for a brief moment, then fade into darkness.

Around us, hundreds of families watch in awe - recalling the horrors of that day one year ago, and giving thanks for the lives they live now.

"It was so beautiful!" Serah says after the last volley of lights have gone.

Sazh stands carefully, his son balanced in his arms as Serah and I gather the few items we brought with us to the memorial.

"Hope."

I lift my head when I hear Snow say his name, and share an amused smile with my sister when we both realize Hope has fallen asleep.

"He did this on purpose." Snow mutters, though it's not without affection. He lifts Hope easily into his arm and steps off the blanket, letting me fold the cloth before we walk back to New Bodhum, four adults and two sleeping children.

* * *

 


	5. The Wedding, Hope's POV

_It's not supposed to rain on the day that Serah and Snow are getting married, but it does. I want to say it isn't fair, but then again, last year I learned all about how life isn't fair. If it was, you'd be here with us, mom._

_Serah smiles at me through her reflection in the mirror, even as she smooths out the fabric of her dress. It's really pretty - mostly white with this really bright pink trim along the bottom edge. It looks like something she'll probably wear on other special occasions, which will make Snow and Yuj happy at least. And maybe Lightning, if she notices that sort of thing._

_Sazh told me this morning that it's supposed to be good luck when it rains on a wedding day. I guess it was raining the day he married Dajh's mom, too, but I don't know how much luck it brought them. Sazh never really talks about her, his wife, and Dajh never says much about her either except to brag about her cakes. Sometimes just hearing him talk about it makes me wish she was here, just so I could figure out what the fuss is about. Serah and Lightning have tried their hand at baking - they made me a nice birthday cake a few months ago. It didn't turn out that great, though I didn't have the heart to say so. I know they really tried._

_You know how on weddings you're supposed to give the bride and groom gifts for their new life? Lightning's trying to keep the tradition alive, but seeing how resources are still kinda tight around here, she said I'm the one who's getting the best present today. I guess that's what she was hoping I'd think when she showed me the room that used to be her office - only now it's supposed to be a room just for me. No more sharing with Snow - who snores like a behemoth king with a massive head cold. I don't know how Serah's going to sleep next to that, but I guess that's gonna be her problem to deal with now._

_I guess Serah and Snow getting married won't change too much around here. I mean, we were all living together before - except Sazh and Dajh, who live just on the other side of our house. The only thing that's really changing is that now they'll wear wedding bands and share a room, maybe have a few kids of their own. I just hope they don't expect me to change diapers._

_"Someone's doing an awful lot of thinking over there." Serah says._

_I guess she's right - everyone's always telling me I'm too quiet any more. I can't help it, I get lost in my train of thought sometimes. Usually, it has to do with the things we find at Paddra - right now I'm trying to decipher a fragment of a stone tablet, but Lightning says I'm not supposed to work on it today. Today's supposed to be all about Serah and Snow. I'm trying to focus on them, but it's not easy. Even though Snow gave me the rings to hold on to, I feel sort of useless right now._

_"Sorry." I reply, but Serah's shaking her head. She motions me toward her with her hand, then hugs me when I get close enough._

_"Aren't you excited?" she asks. "Just think, you'll finally have your own room tonight. You're practically an adult."_

_"I guess." I agree. To be honest, it's something I've wanted ever since we built the house in New Bodhum. I really made Lightning mad when I found out that I had to share with Snow. It felt like she thought I needed a baby-sitter._

_Serah crouches down a little and looks me in the eye. When she smiles at me, it's a bit sad._

_"You're thinking about your mom, aren't you?"_

_She's always been better than Lightning at knowing what's going on in my head - it's kind of strange, considering I've known Lightning a bit longer, but Snow says that she's always been like that, really empathic. Maybe that's why he loves her so much. Personally, I find it a little unsettling that I can't ever seem to hide anything around her._

_"Kind of."_

_"What do you think she would have thought about all of this?" Serah asks._

_Where do I start? Do I tell her how you would have loved the beach, because it would've reminded you of Bodhum on Cocoon? Or how you probably would think her dress is too simple for such an important event? I could tell her what you always told me about marriage, I guess, but then you never did say much about that. Neither did dad, though._

_"She would've liked the lights, I think." I reply, thinking of the strands of colorful lights that Lebreau and Dajh put up yesterday around the bar and the rafters. You'd really hate the chairs that are cluttering the living room, though, so I shouldn't mention that. "And she'd say that Snow looks good in his suit."_

_"I bet she'd say you've gotten big." Serah smiles and fixes the collar on my jacket - my old one that you bought for me the last time we went to the market in Palumpolum. Lightning says it's getting too worn to wear for much longer, but I... just can't bring myself to throw it away. Not yet. "And handsome."_

_I nod, because it sounds like something you'd say, but I can't speak because my throat feels suddenly too tight. And then Serah is hugging me again, and I'm clinging to her like I used to cling to you, because you aren't here, and you should be._

_"I'm sorry." I apologize, and my voice is cracking like when I first entered puberty. "I'm sorry."_

_"It's okay to miss her, Hope." Serah reassures me. "We're all missing people who can't be here right now. But I'm sure they're out there watching us. They wouldn't want us to be sad."_

_There's a knock on the door, and then Lightning enters the room._

_"Everything okay in here?" she asks._

_I wipe my eyes on the back of my sleeve as Serah stands up._

_Nodding to herself, Lightning raises her chin slightly in Serah's direction. "Everyone's waiting on you. Last chance to call it off."_

_"And miss my big sister marrying me to the guy she used to hate?" Serah grins and shakes her head. "Not a chance!"_

_"I'm gonna remind you of that in the future, when it's most inconvenient for you." Lightning says with a smirk. "Alright, come on. Let's get this show on the road."_

* * *

It's really quiet in my room. It's dark outside, and I can't hear anything except my own breathing. Upstairs, Snow and Serah are probably doing what husbands and wives do on their wedding night, and Lightning left the after-party early because it's her turn to take charge of the night patrol.

It figures, after wanting my own room for so long and finally getting it, I can't sleep. I guess somewhere between the Purge and last night, I must've gotten used to the sound of Snow snoring in the next bed over. Just my luck. If you were here, and I was younger, I'd probably walk to your room and ask if I could sleep with you and dad. But you're not here, and I'm fifteen. I'm too old to be sharing a bed with my parents, even adopted ones.

I toss and turn fitfully on my mattress, staring up at the ceiling. Lightning and Snow really tried to make it feel like my own space - there's models of eidolons and fal'cie hanging from the ceiling, things that must've taken a long time to complete. On the wall behind my head, the boomerang I got for my fifteenth birthday is displayed. I'll never use it - Nue means too much to me for that - but it's nice to see it and remember that I do have people that care.

Hours tick by, and I can see the sun starting to rise over the steppes. I haven't slept at all, and I'm exhausted, but I know that Lightning will wake me up when she gets home. She'll tell me that I promised Serah I'd talk to her students today, and if I try to get out of it, not only will I hurt Serah's feelings, Snow and Lightning will be really mad. So I get up and walk out into the living room just as Lightning walks through the door.

"Good to see you a little more proactive this morning." Lightning greets me with a tired smile.

I just nod and murmur 'good night' at her as she goes upstairs to sleep, and wish that her intended compliment was one that I deserve.

* * *

 


	6. The Ruins of Paddra, Snow's POV

_Ya know, I don't think I'll ever get over the sight of the Paddra Ruins. Do you remember when we first found them? I think we were all kinda overwhelmed at the size of the ruins until we came head-to-head with Bituitus..._

_That guy's done with, though. Now a days, instead of cieth there's archaeologists in the ruins. They're good people, just curious, and headed by a guy named Milton Aschelle. Apparently the guy used to head the same recovery team that tried to cordon off the Vestige of Anima back on Cocoon at the start of the Purge. He's nice enough, if a little stand-offish. He calls Hope the future of their field, but damn if I'm gonna tell Lightning that. Let Aschelle tell her himself - she'll probably hand the guy a body part, right before she locks Hope up for the rest of his adolescence. I'm taking Sazh's advice, and trying to stay out of it as much as I can. It's hard to do when you're living under the same roof though..._

_I know you'd both be pretty amazed to see it, but Hope finished translating that tablet he found a while back. Apparently it's a fragment of a Farseer legend, about a shrine dedicated to Bhunivelze. Why they built a shrine to that guy is beyond me - he seemed like a real bastard to me, and you'd think they'd have known better. Serah and I told Hope how proud we were of him, you know, since he worked so hard to finish it. And we are proud of him, but you understand - it's not easy to think of Hope and Bhunivelze in the same sentence without remembering... well, Nova Chrysalia._

_Have to admit, I feel a little bad for Hope - he told Lightning about what he'd done, probably thinking she'd be happier seeing he wasn't just holding the archaeologist team up. Lightning got so mad... not just because Hope kept going to the ruins after she's told him to stop, but because Serah and I were encouraging him! She stormed out of the house that night and I don't think Hope said a word to me or Serah at all after that. Right now, Lightning and Serah can barely hold a civil conversation, and me... well, lately Lightning just glares whenever she sees me - won't even say 'hi' or 'good morning'. Guess I'm the one getting blamed for this mess, lucky me._

_Still, when Aschelle asked me to bring supplies up to the ruin this morning, I couldn't say 'no' when Hope asked to come along. Kid's been so down since Lightning stormed out that night, it's tough to see. And I knew if I didn't bring him, he'd just mope in his room all day and probably refuse to eat anything Serah brought him. Besides, just watching him so focused on uncovering layers of dirt to reveal a few more inches of a mural or a statue is worth any name Lightning might call me later - out here, Hope is happy. He's doing something that he loves, something he's good at and that most of his elders praise him for. I just wish Lightning could see, could understand that that's all Hope wants - her approval._

* * *

"Hey Snow - look at this!" Hope says to me, kneeling in the dirt on the opposite side of the site from the rest of the team.

"What is it, kid?" I ask, setting the box of dried food supplements beside the airship before glancing over Hope's shoulder.

On the ground in front of him is a broken slab with symbols carved into it - symbols I sort of recognize from the tablet Hope had translated. They run in odd, diagonal lines which doesn't strike me as typical for these ruins - everything else I've seen has been written vertically or horizontally.

"It's kind of like a road sign." Hope explains. "This was probably like a table, and this line means that in that direction - south west - should be a shrine. And to the west is Oerba. There's a few symbols on here that I haven't seen before, but I think this is the key to finding other ruins."

I put a hand on Hope's shoulder and smile even though he doesn't turn to look at me, too busy staring at his latest find. "That's awesome!"

I leave Hope to his work, and go back to doing my own - the airship won't unload itself, and the rest of Aschelle's team are pretty absorbed in their own work. Not that it's a problem for me - the longer it takes me to unload, the longer Hope has to do whatever it is he needs to with that stone.

About an hour and sixty boxes later, I've finally finished unloading all of the supplies. Food, safety equipment, extra tools and tarps are all stacked in boxes and crates on the plaza below the pillars of the ruin where a large tent has been set up as Aschelle's headquarters. A map of the area overlaid with a grid is spread out on a long table with little red markers indicating areas where relics have been found and by whom. A quick glance at the map shows that Hope has gotten credit for two finds, not including the stone he's uncovered today - that of the oracle drive, and the stone tablet. Some of the other archaeologists have more finds to their names, but they don't seem as important - most are shards of pottery or a handful of glass beads. Hope is really something else, I guess.

I walk out of the tent and look up at the sky which is a bright, cloudless blue. A large flock of svarog soar over the ruins, their cries bringing a shiver to my spine even as their passing darkens the ruins. Around me, other archaeologists stand up in bewilderment - in the year we've been on Gran Pulse exploring these ruins, nothing like it has ever happened before.

And then the ground beneath our feet starts to tremble. A loud roaring sound echoes through the Pass of Paddra, and two of the less-stable columns crash to the ground. Members of Aschelle's team are calling out to each other, trying to stand their ground in safer areas away from the columns as the quakes increase in magnitude. The stone pavers beneath me arc up in a wave, and I wave my arms wildly to keep my balance.

The airship, at least, seems to be fairly safe - the ground beneath it isn't shaking as badly as the ground closer to the ruins, so Hope should be okay. But as I try to scan the area where Hope had been bent over the stone slab, I realize that he's gone.

"Hope?!" I shout, running awkwardly over the unstable terrain towards the ship. There's no sign of him anywhere - the stone artifact is in tact, as is the area around it. He must've gone off on his own, knowing that I'd insist on taking him home when I was done. But where the hell did he go?

It doesn't take me long to realize that Lightning is going to kill me. This is probably exactly what she feared would happen, that Hope would go missing during a natural disaster and something bad would happen to him. I'm never gonna be able to live this one down, and I don't know if Serah's gonna be able to save me from her sister's wrath. Damn!

The ground's quaking slowly subsides, but my legs feel a bit weak with worry. I know that Hope isn't up by the ruins with the rest of Aschelle's team, but he might've gone into the airship thinking it'd be safer than staying outside. I run up the ramp, calling out his name, but it barely takes me a minute to realize that Hope isn't there, either. The only other place the kid could've gone was through the Pass of Paddra. Normally, I wouldn't worry too much about that - I mean, the kid's got pretty strong magic still, even without the inexhaustible mana reserves that come with being a l'cie, but I know there are Hybrid Flora lurking in the pass and those suckers can be tough for a group of three, let alone one kid on his own.

I don't even have to think about what to do - I throw myself into the cock pit and strap myself in. I can see Aschelle trying to wave me down from the top of the ruin's steps, but I've already started the engine and hit the button to raise the ramp. If I fly low enough over the pass, I might be able to spot Hope on foot - it's what I'm praying for, anyway.

* * *

 


	7. The Fallout, Lightning's POV

_I sometimes wish you were here, Fang. Especially on the days when Hope and I disagree - something that is quickly becoming more frequent. How did you ever manage to deal with Vanille, with her constant stream of lies? You were always so good with her, firm but gentle and consistent, even when you were afraid that she would turn cieth._

_I wasn't always this way, you know. When I first met Hope, I thought he was nothing but a burden - something that would ultimately just slow me down on my quest to save Serah. But then he surprised me when he managed to keep up, when I realized that he was capable of fighting. I didn't think he was a burden or incompetent then. I still don't, but after everything we've been through... even though Bhunivelze is gone, my heart seems to skip a beat when I think of Hope in that place, in Paddra. Perhaps I'm over-reacting like Sazh says, maybe I'm letting fears created by those memories control my life._

_Do you remember that first day we all spent on Gran Pulse? When Hope went to gather food, and the chocobo chick let us know something was wrong? I'll never forget how worried everyone was - he'd never collapsed before that day, and he was so distraught that night... It was the same night when he mastered Alexander as an eidolon, and he was so proud of himself. Now I see that same self-satisfied look on his face whenever he talks about Paddra._

_Milton Aschelle stopped by to see me the other day. You never met him - he's the guy who heads the dig at the ruins. He told me that Hope's incredibly talented, right before he asked if he could officially make Hope his apprentice. I told him I'd consider it, though I guess I don't have a very good poker-face. Aschelle left looking like I'd just killed his pet dog. Then Hope came home and told me that he'd finished translating that damned stone tablet he's been obsessing over for weeks, said it was a fragment of a story about Bhunivelze._

_I... made a mistake. I told Hope he was becoming everything he'd always said he hated about his father. Then Snow had to tell me I was being unreasonable, and... it didn't go well. Serah and Hope both looked so... so scared, just standing there while Snow and I yelled at each other. I couldn't take it any more, so I... I left._

_Guess that makes me just as bad as Vanille was back then, huh? One of the perks of being New Bodhum's mayor and head of security, though - there's always something that needs my attention. It was morning by the time I returned home, and habit made me stop by Hope's room to check on him. He wasn't in his room, and I'll never forget the knot in my stomach as I ran upstairs to find Serah and Snow. I was sure he'd run away, that we'd have to go looking for him... but when I opened the door to Serah and Snow's room, Hope was there, sleeping on the mattress beside Serah._

_Since that day, things have still be tense between us. All of us. Serah's still mad at me for what I said to Hope about his dad, although I don't think she could possibly be angrier at me than I am at myself. I'm still pretty pissed at Snow, mostly for getting involved and trying to undermine me at every turn with Hope. He's smart enough to realize it, though - he's usually gone by the time I get home any more, running errands for Sazh or Aschelle._

_As for Hope... I'd ground him, if I thought it'd do any good. He won't even look at me any more, and if he's talking to Serah or Snow when I enter a room, he clams up pretty quick. Like he's afraid I'll yell at him just for mentioning 'Paddra' in passing._

_... he might not be wrong about that._

* * *

I'm arbitrating a dispute between neighbors when it happens: an earthquake. We feel it before we see the svarog flocking over the skies from the east, the direction of Paddra.

A sense of dread floods my body: the ruins can be dangerous enough to experienced archaeologists under good conditions, but in an earthquake could be even deadlier. As if that's not enough to worry me, I know that Snow and Hope are both probably there. Even though both are experienced warriors, there's not much either could do if one of those pillars should come crashing down on them.

"Lightning!"

I stand when I see Sazh running down the hill towards me, waving his arms wildly to catch my attention.

"Just got a message from Aschelle's team at the ruins. Massive earthquake, four of the ten original team members are injured and unable to walk back -"

"Get Snow on the radio, tell him to bring them back." I say. My voice sounds calm - calmer than I feel.

"That's the problem!" Sazh yells as I turn my back to him. "Snow already took off before Aschelle even had a chance to talk to him!"

Snow isn't a coward, that much is for certain. There's only one reason he would take the airship without sticking around to be the 'hero'.

With gut-wrenching clarity, I know that something has happened to Hope. That has to be it - there's no other reason Snow would take off like that.

"Is he answering the radio at all?" I ask.

"If he's receiving my transmission, he's ignoring it." Sazh replies. "Damned if I know why."

I've known Snow long enough to have a fairly good idea of how he reacts and why. If Hope had been injured and Snow was bringing him home for medical attention, regardless of my wrath, he would've radio'd Sazh. The fact that Snow hasn't, and won't answer his radio, leads me to believe one thing.

Hope is gone.

* * *

 


	8. The Lost Shrine of Bhunivelze, Hope's POV

_After weeks of hard work, I think I've finally found the location of the shrine mentioned in the tablet I found at the Paddra ruins. It was mostly luck that I found the indicator stone - if Snow hadn't landed the airship so close to the ruins, I might never have found it._

_Snow's probably gonna be a little mad at me when he realizes I left the dig site on my own, but I just have to see for myself if my hunch is right. If it is, maybe I'll find something that will convince Lightning that my work is important. Maybe then I can prove to her that I'm not turning into my dad._

_According the the indicator stone, the shrine should be south-west of the Paddra ruins - which means cutting through the Pass of Paddra. Nue is tucked safely in my back pocket, but I'm ready to pull it out in a moment's notice. The Pass isn't exactly safe - even now, it's still crawling with munchkin and alraune. They're not particularly difficult opponents, but they can easily overwhelm with numbers, and I'm not as fast as Lightning is. I have to be cautious, but I also have to be quick. Who knows when Snow will realize that I'm gone, but when he does, I know he's gonna come looking for me. And while Snow might not be as fast as Lightning, either, he's got an airship at his disposal and I... don't._

_It's after I've finished off the two hybrid flora that I see it: a small, shining symbol of Bhunivelze set into the face of one of the cliffs that make up the Pass. According to my translation of the tablet, if this is the door to the shrine, it can only be opened by a crystal key. When I first realized what that translation meant, I thought of you, Alexander. I think I know what the key is, but I'm not sure if it's specific. I don't think so, but... I guess I'll find out soon enough._

* * *

I reach into my jacket pocket to remove what I suspect is the key to the door in front of me: Alexander's eidolith. Ever since Etro removed the mark that made me a l'cie, I've been unable to summon him, but if my thinking is correct, the eidolith should still work as the key. I hold it out to the symbol of Bhunivelze, and watch as the rock surrounding the symbol breaks away to reveal the door's outline.

Satisfaction thrums through my veins, and I touch the eidolith to the symbol. The stone door slides up into the mountain, revealing a dark chamber cut into the cliff. I tuck Alexander's eidolith back into my pocket before entering the shrine. The door slides back down behind me with a thud, plunging me into complete darkness. I should probably feel more worried than I do, but I just have this feeling that I'm where I'm supposed to be.

Feeling my way along the walls in the darkness, I quickly find an unlit torch. I use magic to light it, and remove the torch from the sconce. On the wall directly across from the closed door is a mural etched with symbols that represent various fal'cie. Bhunivelze's symbol is predominant on the wall, a giant eye floating amid the stone clouds above what looks like the Archylte steppes. On the right side of the mural, I can make out carved human figures bowing to the symbol of Pulse, while on the left side are humans bathed in light emitted from Etro's symbol. Orphan's symbol hovers ominously in the sky between Etro and Bhunivelze, sending a shiver down my spine.

After I've looked at the mural closely, I try to examine the other walls that make up the small room. The wall where the door was carved into is little more than smooth stone, and the northern wall only has the sconce where I found the torch. The southern wall, though, has the writing of the Farseers carved into it. The symbols are written left-to-right, though they seem to wrap around another symbol of Bhunivelze in the center of the wall.

I take out Alexander's eidolith a second time, and press it to the familiar mark. Almost instantly, all of the symbols in the room begin to glow, bathing me in bright blue light. Then the ground starts to shake beneath my feet. A loud cracking sound echoes in my ears, and I turn to see the mural split down the middle. The crack widens gradually, like an unseen giant is parting it from the other side.

Eventually, when the quake stops, I thrust my torch through the space between the cracked halves of the mural. It's so dark that even with the light, I can't tell what I'm looking at. I reach out my free hand to try to feel for rock or a wall, and find myself in a very narrow tunnel. The walls of the tunnel are rough, unfinished, and I'm about ten feet in when I feel a slight breeze blow past me. It's a good sign - there must be an exit around here somewhere.

Unfortunately, I discover the exit completely by accident when the ground beneath my feet just gives way. I drop the torch in my surprise as gravity drops me into the open air over the gorge of the Ascendant Scarp. I have to think fast to try and grab a hold of one of the vines growing out over the gorge, but thankfully it works. My body slams into the cliff hard enough that I'm pretty sure it'll leave a spectacular bruise, my heart is hammering in my chest. I'm hanging precariously over a drop that's easily more than a hundred feet to a rocky death. Looking up the vine-covered cliff face, I can see it's only about thirty feet to the ledge. I don't really have any choice but to try to climb.

It's tough work - the vines are slippery beneath my hands, and my arms aren't used to pulling my whole weight. If I survive this, I should probably think about asking Snow to train me, to make me physically stronger because this? This isn't fun.

And of course, the vines seem to stop about six feet from the ledge of the path that runs along the Ascendant Scarp. I have to sacrifice my precarious grip on the slippery vines for the even less reliable handholds I find in the rock, and pray to Etro that the rock doesn't give way beneath my weight. By now the muscles in my arms are burning fiercely, my calves feel raw from scraping the cliff face in my climb, and I just want to go home. I don't even know how I manage to reach the ledge at last, but I pull myself up over it and scoot as far away from the edge as I can get, gasping for breath and grateful to have solid land beneath me.

Then I hear it: the sound of an airship hovering near-by. I look up in time to see Snow run down the ramp towards me.

"Hope!" he shouts, grabbing me by the shoulders and forcing me to my feet. He looks me up and down, then spins me around so he can examine the rest of me quickly. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" I reply, though I think I'm trying to convince myself more than Snow.

He must believe me, too, because suddenly he's hugging me so tightly that I can barely breathe. Then Snow lets me go, holding me at an arms length as he looks me over again and shakes his head.

"Damn, Lightning's gonna kill us." he says, whistling lowly. He looks over his shoulder towards the direction of New Bodhum, like he can already sense Lightning's anger. Then he shoves me in the direction of the airship. "C'mon, let's get this over with. Maybe if we're lucky she won't be home to see you before you clean up."

"It's just a little dirt..." I murmur weakly, but I do as I'm told.

At this point, even facing Lightning is better than hanging over that gorge.

* * *

 


	9. Relief Efforts, Serah's POV

_Everyone was scared when the earthquake started. It's been over a year since we settled New Bodhum, but this is the first time it's ever happened. Maybe it's a rare occurrence, but we can't be sure. All I know is that my students were terrified, probably because it reminded them of those last few hours before Orphan fell, when all of Cocoon was trembling in the midst of the civil war and then Ragnarok's descent..._

_Honestly? I was scared, too. Especially when I saw where the center of origin appeared to be, in the direction of the Paddra ruins. Snow and Hope had gone there early that morning, and I was worried about them both. And then Claire found me, and told me that Snow had apparently left the ruins without the injured archaeologists but he wasn't answering his radio. I knew what she was thinking, that something had happened to Hope. For once, I couldn't disagree. All I could do was sit with Claire and pray that everyone would be okay._

_Sazh was the first to come back. He took the second airship and headed to Paddra when Snow wouldn't respond the radio. Claire and I greeted the ship when he landed, and helped move the injured archaeologists into one of the empty houses on the western part of New Bodhum. There were a few broken bones - mostly fingers and toes that had been crushed by falling rocks - and a lot of scrapes and bruises. They weren't too difficult to take care of, just reset the broken bones and a few Curasa spells later, they were fine. A couple of the archaeologists had suffered more grievous injuries, though. One man had had his leg crushed beneath the weight of a large portion of pillar, and the only way his friends had been able to move him was to cut away the trapped limb at the knee. They'd wrapped the wound as best they could, but by the time we'd moved him the blood was soaking everything. We actually had to cauterize the wound with fire before we could heal him, and I think the shock may kill him yet. One of the female archaeologists - Erilla Nabhuo - had some sort of mental breakdown during the earthquake. Aschelle himself carried her out of the airship, and she's done nothing but stare into space and rock herself back-and-forth ever since he put her in one of the emergency cots. Nothing Claire or I have tried has snapped her out of it, and exchanging transmissions with the nearest doctor - a man currently working in New Eden near the Haerii ruins - doesn't give us much hope for her. According to him, Erilla could be like this for days or years, maybe even the rest of her life._

_Then there were the twins, Cayel and Cayerin Wrothes. They didn't appear to be as injured as some of the others at first. Aschelle said that they'd both been closest to the area where the team suspects a door is located, and when the earthquake started, the falling pillars had separated them from the rest of the group. By the time everything had stopped shaking and Aschelle had gotten to them, they were both laying on their sides in semi-fetal positions, their hands clasped tightly together. Apparently Aschelle and Sazh had the most difficult time getting them on the airship - the twins would not let go of each other. By the time Claire and I got to them, to see what we could do to help, Cayel was already breathing his last breath. Cayerin is still alive, but can't seem to explain what happened to her or to her brother. It doesn't make any sense at all._

_By the time Claire and I finished doing what we could for the archaeology team, the sun was almost setting. We were exhausted beyond the point of conversation, walking home in silence. When we entered the living room, Snow was trying to herd Hope towards the wash room._

_I think I gasped in horror, because even from the back, I could see Hope was covered almost head-to-toe in dirt and grime. He looked like he'd gotten into a fight with a flan and lost pretty badly. When they heard me, my husband and Hope both turned to face us. Snow looked so sheepish, and Hope looked really contrite._

_"It's not as bad as it looks." Hope murmured, but he wouldn't raise his eyes to look at any of us._

_Claire walked towards him, and even though Hope flinched, he didn't shy away from her when she brushed some of the dirt on his cheek away with her thumb. My sister shook her head silently, then hugged him. She didn't yell, didn't admonish him at all. When she let go of him, she only said, "Go clean up. It's getting late."_

_I don't think I've seen Hope scurry to do what Claire's told him to in a long time. He didn't even try to argue, didn't stay to 'watch the fireworks' as Snow says when Claire normally starts yelling._

_And then the three of us were standing in tense silence._

_"I -" Snow started to speak, but Claire raised her hand, cutting him off._

_"It's been a really long day, for everyone." Claire said. "Hope's safe and right now, that's all that matters. You can give me the details tomorrow."_

* * *

I crack open the door to Hope's room slightly, trying not to let too much light in from the living room so I won't wake him.

He fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, according to Claire. He must've been exhausted, but then again, we all are. Though probably for different reasons.

I tip-toe into his room as quietly as I can, and place his clothes that I tried to mend on his desk. I couldn't save his jacket, and I know he'll be upset when he realizes it, but every time I tried to patch one hole, the fabric just seemed to fray faster.

I put the eidolith I found in the pocket of his jacket on top of his clothes. It's really a miracle that he didn't lose it, though I'm not sure why he took it with him to the ruins. Maybe it's like a lucky charm.

"Serah?" Snow whispers from the doorway.

I turn to face him and put a finger to my lips, then tip-toe towards him. "Shh! You'll wake them up!"

"Them?" Snow asks.

I point towards the bed where Hope is sound asleep, and the chair beside the bed where Claire is curled up and snoring softly. She must've been really worried about him, to have fallen asleep watching Hope sleep.

"She looks uncomfortable. Shouldn't we wake her up?"

I shake my head - I've seen Claire fall asleep in a thousand strange places, in hundreds of awkward-looking positions. When I was seventeen, I found her sleeping practically standing up, propped against the doorway of our room in Bodhum. I made the mistake of trying to wake her then, and almost got a black eye for my kindness.

"Trust me, it's better to let her sleep like that." I reply. I pull on Snow's arm gently as I exit Hope's room and shut the door quietly. "We'd better try to get some rest, though. Something tells me it won't be so peaceful when they wake up."

* * *

 


	10. Crime and Punishment, Snow's POV

_I was pretty relieved when I spotted Hope from the airship. I'd been looking for him for hours, making two rounds over the Pass of Paddra before deciding to look over the Ascendant Scarp. Have to admit, I never expected to see the kid climbing up over the ledge._

_When I landed the ship and ran out to meet Hope, I saw that he was a mess. His jacket was torn all along the back, the knees of his pants were pretty much worn through, and his gloves didn't look much better. There was blood on his hands and knees, and dirt pretty much smeared all over his body - it would've been funny, if I hadn't almost had a heart attack worrying about him._

_Hope tried to tell me that he was okay, that it was just a bit of dirt. Like he hadn't run off without telling me where he was going, like I hadn't seen him climb up one of the steepest gorges in the whole of Yaschas Massif. I wanted to be angry with him, but I was so relieved that he was unhurt... Even though I knew Lightning wasn't gonna be happy with either of us, I just wanted to get him home before Hope could find more trouble to get himself into._

_He must've felt the same way, because he didn't put up much fuss when I told him to get in the ship. The sun was starting to set, so I had to fly higher than I'm normally comfortable with - Amphisbaena and Svarog have a tendency to really come out at night, and the higher you fly, the more likely you are to hit one with an airship. It happened over in New Eden a few months ago, and everyone in the ship was pretty much killed instantly. It's not a way I'd prefer to die, and I just kept praying to Etro that it wouldn't happen to us after I'd finally found Hope._

_Thankfully, we arrived in New Bodhum free of any unexpected run-ins. I landed the ship beside the one Sazh typically uses, the one he normally parks on the other side of the village. I knew that I was probably gonna get an earful from Lightning and Sazh about that, too - I'd turned off the radio when I'd gone to look for Hope. It was pretty much the first rule of piloting that I'd broken: you never turn off your radio, and you never ignore a transmission. Even though I think I had a pretty good reason for doing it, I knew Lightning and Sazh wouldn't agree._

_New Bodhum was pretty quiet when we made our way home, but seeing the lights in the house that was typically reserved for out-of-town visitors, I had a feeling that there'd been more excitement at the ruins than just a missing teenager. I thought if we had a little bit of luck, I could get Hope home and cleaned up so that maybe Lightning wouldn't freak out as much when I told her that he'd been missing for a few hours._

_Of course, that didn't really work out. We'd barely gotten to the stairs when Lightning and Serah walked in. I thought for sure that Lightning would carve out a chunk of my hide right then and there, but apparently she was just really happy that Hope was okay. She didn't even bother to yell at me, saying that it'd been a long day and that we'd all talk in the morning._

_And wasn't that fun, being forced awake before the sun even came up. It wasn't really Lightning's fault that Aschelle chose that moment to start pounding on the door. Serah was half-asleep when I got up and followed Lightning downstairs, just to learn from Aschelle that apparently Cayerin Wroth had died only a few minutes before, and Urich Gilz - the amputee - was looking like he was gonna go soon. He was worried that something like a trap had been released during the earthquake, and he was afraid it was gonna spread to the rest of his team._

* * *

The coffee is barely enough to keep me awake, but I drink it anyway. Serah's busy whipping up breakfast in the kitchen over my shoulder, and Hope just looks miserable as he sips his juice beside me. Can't say it's a surprise - kid's a walking bruise this morning.

"You never did tell me just how you ended up in the gorge yesterday." I say. Behind us, Serah gasps and I can hear the spatula she'd been using clatter to the floor. I never did get around to telling her about that last night. Oops.

"You remember that shrine I was telling you about? The one to Bhunivelze?" Hope asks. I nod and take another sip of coffee. "That road map I found yesterday, the one by the ship, kinda showed me the direction it was located. I followed a hunch and found the shrine but I, um... kinda got stuck. I tried to get out through this tunnel, except that it kinda collapsed when I was walking."

"And you fell into the gorge of the Ascendant Scarp." I add.

Hope dips his head in embarrassment. "Uh... yeah."

"Just where was this shrine, anyway? How the hell did you get in?"

"It was where the Pass of Paddra meets the Ascendant Scarp." Hope murmurs. "I found the symbol of Bhunivelze carved into the rock. Back when I was working to translate that tablet, it mentioned needing a 'crystal key' to open the door, and I -"

"Used the eidolith!" Serah exclaims. "That's why it was in your jacket pocket!"

Hope turns and nods at her, then starts to tap his fingers nervously on his glass. After a long moment of silence, he looks up at me through a fringe of silver-blond hair. "It was really... really terrifying. I thought I was dead for sure."

"Yeah, well, I know you really scared the crap outta me." I growl. "One minute I'm doing my job and you're translating by the ship, the next minute the earth is shaking and you're gone... I'm telling you now, Hope, if Lightning doesn't ground you, I will."

The kid winces and looks away, just as Lightning walks through the door.

"That's a relief." she says. "To think, Snow and I finally agree on something."

"I'm... I'm really sorry." Hope stands up and bows his head to Lightning. "I should've told someone where I was going, and I should've waited for someone to go with me."

"Yeah." Lightning agrees. She brushes past Hope and sits down at the table across from me. I pour her a cup of coffee from the pot in front of me and slide it towards her. She nods her appreciation, takes a sip and closes her eyes.

"And... I shouldn't have let you and Snow worry so much. I really could've been hurt, or killed, and I should've thought about that before going off on my own." Hope continues.

Lightning nods. "And?"

"And...?" Hope looks confused, hesitating a glance first at Serah and then at me.

"And." Lightning repeats. "As in, 'and I should have listened when you told me not to go.' Or, 'and I understand why I should be grounded.' People died yesterday, Hope! It could have been you!"

Hope's face pales when he hears the word 'died'. "Who..?"

"The Wroths and Gilz, though when I left this morning Nabhuo wasn't doing much better. I won't be surprised if she's gone by tonight." Lightning stares down at her coffee in disgust, then fixes Hope with her nags-like stare. "As Snow was saying earlier, you are so grounded. I don't want to hear the words 'Paddra' or 'Bhunivelze' or 'Farseer' out of your mouth for the next three weeks, got it?"

Hope nods silently and takes a small step towards the table. I can tell he's trying to hold back a flood of emotions - he's known the archaeologist team members almost as long as he's known the rest of us, and losing even one of them would be like losing a friend. But to find out that three of them are dead is probably a pretty big shock.

"We'll go to the service tomorrow morning." Lightning announces. "And after that, you're going to be Serah's shadow until your grounding is up."

Hope doesn't argue, just returns to his seat and stares into his juice.

Then Lightning turns her gaze on me, and I know that I'm next. Damn.

"As for you," she growls. "You abandoned people who needed medical attention to go after a kid who wasn't supposed to be at the ruins to begin with. You ignored Sazh's transmissions, probably turned the radio off altogether, and then tried to cover it all up when you brought Hope home."

"It's not like -" When Lightning glares at me, I can't help but swallow thickly. She'd probably try to eviscerate me with a spoon if I gave her a good enough reason to.

"I'm grounding you, too." Lightning says. "No flying for you until you've proven to Sazh that you won't go pulling that kind of crap again. Until then, you're on night patrol. That ought to keep the both of you out of trouble for a while."

I push my coffee away and glance back at Serah. She looks a little upset with her sister's decree, but not upset enough to argue. Guess I'll just have to try to get back in Sazh's good graces as fast as I can. As for Hope... well, I think he's probably learned a valuable lesson.

* * *

 


	11. The Lesson, Lightning's POV

_It's hard to believe that almost an entire month has gone by since the earthquake at Paddra. Harder still when I think that three weeks have come and gone and nothing else truly noteworthy has happened. Perhaps because Hope has been busy helping teach Serah's students, or perhaps because Snow's been working the night patrol near the ruins. Or maybe everything is finally settling down._

_It'd be nice if that's the case. That earthquake killed almost half of Aschelle's archaeologist team, though we're still not sure how. Granted, Gilz probably died from shock after his friends were forced to cut off his leg just to bring him back to town, but the other three were physically unharmed. Aschelle and I thought maybe it was a spelled trap that was released during the quake, but when we couldn't confirm our suspicions. As a result, we've both agreed to keep the ruins off-limits to the public until further notice._

_Tomorrow, Aschelle is taking his team north to the Haerii ruins to work there instead. Have to admit, I'm a bit relieved that he's going. Maybe that will keep Hope from trying to explore Paddra again._

_Not that it stopped him the last time, which is why he's spent the last three weeks as Serah's aide. Though it's been tough to see him around the village, dressed the way he's been. His jacket was pretty much destroyed in his last little escapade, and it's been strange seeing him without it. I guess I knew he was short before, but without his jacket Hope just looks so... thin. The patches on the knees of his pants don't improve his new look, either. Actually, it reminds me of all the times I used to see Snow and the other NORA members running around Bodhum when they were part of Sanctum's orphanage system. I'm seriously considering asking Yuj to take him clothes shopping._

_Of course, the way that Serah and Snow encourage Yuj in his flirtations, I think someone needs to teach my sister and her husband a lesson._

* * *

It's a morning like any other, except that it's the first day after Hope's finished his punishment, and one of Serah's two days off. It's also a morning when Snow is not on night patrol, having regained his wings last week from Sazh who is apparently more lenient than I gave him credit for.

We sit at the breakfast table as we always do, the door propped open to let in the early morning breeze, when Yuj makes his typical appearance.

He comes up the stairs of the porch wit his usual flair, grinning like a cheshire cat as he swaggers. Yuj leans against the porch railing across from the door, waves what he thinks is a 'cool' peace-sign towards Hope and then winks in my direction.

"So Lightning, when are you gonna let me take you out for dinner?" Yuj asks with his usual smile. "I bet I'd show you a real nice time."

"Oh?" I reply. I deviate from our usual script, slowly standing up from my seat at the table and walking towards him. I play to the sensuality I don't normally let show, rolling my hips as I walk and bringing one hand up to card through my hair. I can tell from the rough sound of china hitting the table that at least Snow and Serah are surprised. I smile shyly as I get closer to Yuj, stepping out onto the porch. "Actually... I was thinking of taking  _you_  out."

"R-really?" Yuj stutters, leaning back further over the railing as I approach.

Behind me, Serah and Hope gasp in surprise, while Snow sputters coffee across the breakfast table. More amusingly, Yuj's eyes become wide like saucers, and his face drains of color.

"I was thinking about lunch. In New Eden." I murmur softly. We're practically nose-to-nose, though I have to stand on my tip-toes to accomplish this. "Today."

Yuj gulps audibly: just like I thought, he's all talk. Probably trying to show off for Snow. It's fine. I'm not interested in Yuj beyond making him squirm and teaching Serah and Snow a lesson.

"T-t-today?" Yuj is practically shaking when he tries to look over my shoulder towards Snow for help. "D-don't we -"

I use my left hand to touch his cheek, turning his head until he's looking at me again. I let out a breathy little laugh, something I've rarely used since leaving the Bodhum Guardian Corp, and it elicits a panicked whimper from Yuj's throat. I imagine I can hear the wheels in Snow's mind screeching to a halt at my unexpected behavior.

I slide my fingers down Yuj's slim chest as I gaze up at him through my lashes, feeling somewhat amused that his face is practically blue from not breathing in enough oxygen. Time for the kill.

"You see, I was thinking you could... help pick out new clothes for Hope."

It takes a few minutes for the words to sink into his overwhelmed mind, but when understanding dawns on him, Yuj's face flushes with embarrassment. I push my hands against his chest and use the momentum to turn and walk back into the house with my usual stride. Serah watches me, wide-eyed, while Snow can't seem to close his mouth. Even Hope is looking at me with a new sort of respect as I sink into the seat beside him.

"What the hell just happened?" Snow asks after a few minutes of silence.

"I think..." Serah shakes her head, trying to clear it. "I think Claire just played a prank on us."

I snort derisively and pour myself some coffee. Then I glance towards Yuj, who has at least managed to walk to the doorway, even if he's just standing there like an idiot.

"Got your tongue back yet, or am I supposed to guess whether or not you're coming?" I ask with my usual bite.

"I, uh... I'd be happy to help." Yuj stutters. To everyone's amusement, he bows slightly towards me. "With clothes. For Hope, I mean."

"Good." I nod and sip my coffee. "See if Maqui, Lebreau and Gadot want to come. Tell them we'll leave in an hour."

Yuj nods and bows again, then runs off like he's being chased by a pack of gorgonopsid.

"That was just... wow." Snow remarks. "New Eden, huh?"

"I figured we could all use a break." I reply. "And Hope could definitely use some new clothes."

"Is that your way of asking if we want to come, too?" Serah asks with a smile.

"Well, if you two love birds would rather stay here -" I cut myself off, because I'm sure they'd rather have the house to themselves for a few hours.

"Actually, it'd be kinda nice to see something different." Snow says. "And weren't you just saying that you needed something, baby?"

They exchange an intense look - I'm not sure I want to know what it means. Probably something to do with their love life. I stand up and take my now-empty coffee cup with me and deposit it in the sink with the other dirty breakfast dishes.

"Just be ready to go on time."

* * *

 


	12. New Eden, Serah's POV

_I'm so excited, Vanille, but I'm also nervous._

_Today... today is important. Claire invited us - all of us - to go to New Eden to find new clothes for Hope and, I think, to get everyone out of the house. The last three weeks were rough on all of us, though I have a feeling that it was harder for me and Snow. I mean, we hadn't been married very long at all when Claire put Snow on night patrol, knowing that I work in the day teaching the village kids. For two weeks, I only got to see my husband while we were both awake for maybe thirty minutes at a time._

_Hope adjusted to his punishment pretty well. It was kind of nice having someone to help me teach the younger children, but the girls seemed especially smitten by Hope. I think I've probably given out fewer demerits in the last three weeks than I had in the previous three months. I'll be sorry when that goes back to normal next week._

_Snow is really looking forward to seeing New Eden. As soon as Sazh told him he was allowed to fly again, he started asking around to see if anyone needed a pilot since right now Aschelle is... not really on speaking terms with him. Apparently the merchant's guild in New Eden is looking for someone who can transport goods from the surrounding Gran Pulse villages, and they're willing to pay a lot of gold for a skilled pilot. They want to see Snow before they make it official, but they said they're excited to have a former l'cie for a transporter. I'm just excited to see Gran Pulse's first living city in over five hundred years. Sazh is the only one of us former l'cie who's actually been there, though he says it wasn't much when he was there. I guess it was almost a year ago, when they were still trying to figure out how to get power working. According to him, back then the buildings weren't all that different from the ones we have in New Bodhum - they were simple, one-story and often one-roomed structures, and the market was little more than people sitting on blankets with wares laid out around them. But according to several of the newer villagers, New Eden looks nothing now like it did then._

_I guess it makes sense. It is, after all, not only the closest of the villages to Cocoon, but also the capital city of Gran Pulse._

* * *

New Eden is nothing like I imagined it would be. I suppose it's because I was imagining it would look like its namesake from Cocoon, but in reality, it's actually a bunch of really tall buildings clustered in small blocks with crowded, narrow streets.

Snow and I are walking hand-in-hand while Claire walks on my other side, her eyes never leaving the back of Hope's head as he's pulled from one window display to another by Yuj and Maqui.

"C'mon, this is the place." Yuj announces before suddenly veering left.

"I don't know..." Hope replies, but Yuj has a firm grip on his wrist and tugs on it insistently.

"Hurry up, Snow!" Maqui shouts back at us, waving enthusiastically before disappearing through the shop's door.

"Kids." Claire scoffs.

As we approach the door, Snow gives me The Look. It's our signal, I suppose, a silent tool of communication and something that is sort of irritating in the moment. He releases his grip on my hand and waves at me and Claire before joining the others in the store. Before Claire can move to follow him, I grab her arm and pull her back.

"We... we need to talk." I say. My heart is hammering in my chest, I'm so nervous. I never dreamt I would ever have this kind of conversation with my sister, but Snow and I've talked about it for days. I can't keep hiding it forever.

"What's wrong?" Claire asks. A familiar light flares in her eyes, and suddenly she's looking me over for some sort of evidence that she can't seem to find. "Has he hurt you? Are you sick?"

"N-no, nothing like that!" I reply. "But... well..."

Claire is looking at me expectantly, her brow creased slightly as her mind goes through all of the horrible scenarios that she's probably imagining I'm about to unfold for her. The longer I stay quiet, the worse it's going to get.

"I... no, we... I mean, Snow and I... are worried about you."

"Worried?" Claire's eyes widen slightly, and she takes a half step back away from me. "Why?"

"Because... you're alone." I can't even look Claire in the eye as I say it. "I know you were making fun of us, for encouraging Yuj... but you're my sister, Claire. I don't like the thought of you spending the rest of your life alone, and you're not even trying to find someone, are you?"

Claire crosses her arms over her chest and blows out a long, steady stream of air from the corner of her mouth - the way she used to do when she was trying to raise me and I did something to exasperate her. She glares through the store window out of the corner of her eye, and I turn to see Yuj thrusting clothes at Hope to try on while Snow and Maqui put on various hats and accessories that make them look really ridiculous. It makes me smile, until my sister punches the brick of the building with her bare fist.

Several of the people walking by stop briefly when they see her violent outburst, but then decide we aren't worth getting involved with and continue on their way.

"That's not your job." Claire says. I open my mouth to argue, but she shakes her head. "No. I'm the big sister here, and it's one thing for me to worry about what you're getting yourself into when you're a minor and my responsibility. But you don't have to worry about my life, Serah. I've lived in several worlds without you in it, and I've survived hundreds of worlds alone. No matter what happens - whether I find someone or not - those are choices that are mine to make, and mine to live with. And in any case, I will be fine."

"That's... such a relief!" I exhale, and hug Claire tightly. I must've caught her off-guard, because it takes a moment for her to put her arms around me, too. "It makes saying this so much easier."

"Saying what?" Claire asks.

"Er, well..." I pull back a bit and bite my lip - a nervous habit from my childhood, I guess. "Snow and I are moving."

Almost instantly, Claire's eyes dart back to the window and she glares at the back of Snow's head with an intensity that probably could start a fire.

"Why do you need to move? There's plenty of room at the house for the four of us, your belongings are already there. Why get a house now when..." Claire pauses, and I think she understands. She turns her angry gaze on me. "Is this about when I gave Snow night patrol? Are you really doing this because I was trying to make a point?"

I feel a little disappointed - I guess she didn't understand after all.

"No, that's not it." I reach out and touch her arm reassuringly, and try to smile as brightly as I can. "It's just... the house is already so crowded for four of us, and it really wouldn't be fair to you or Hope if we stayed."

"You're not bothering us, though, and neither is Snow." Claire replies firmly. Then, as an after thought she mutters, "No more than he usually does, anyway."

I shake my head in frustration, grab Claire by both shoulders and shake her with as much strength as I can muster. "I'm pregnant."

* * *

 


	13. The Change, Hope's POV

_I really... really don't want to go to New Eden._

_It's not that things are uncomfortable between Lightning and me, because they're not. Well, not as much as it was. And it's not because Snow and Serah are still mad at me - which I'm pretty sure they are._

_It's because Yuj and Maqui are coming with us._

_I mean... they're nice enough guys, I guess. We just don't... have a lot in common. Yuj usually hangs out with Maqui in the village scrap heap, and when they're not out there or in Lenora's Garage, they usually hang out at Lebreau's cafe._

_Honestly, I think I'd rather clean up the chocobo corrals all day._

_Besides, even if Lightning says so, I really don't need new clothes. I mean, I'm a little upset about my jacket... but my shirt is fine, and Serah patched the holes in the knees of my pants. I tried explaining that to Lightning, but Snow said I should just go along with it and enjoy the trip. New Eden's supposed to be kind of like Palumpolum was, a giant commercial city right here on Gran Pulse. It's also a trading hub between Cocoon and the other villages, I guess, because they say you can find just about anything there._

_I guess that includes things you don't need or want, huh?_

* * *

I really don't know what to think about the clothes Yuj gave me to try on. I mean, the pants aren't too bad, I guess. They're longer than I'm used to, so I had to tuck the legs into my boots to keep from stepping on the hem, and they're such a dark gray color that they're almost black, which I guess is somehow 'in-style'. I don't know if I'm thrilled with the color, but I do like the extra pockets on the side for keeping smaller items. The shirt is short-sleeved and a dark green color with blue and purple threads weaving through it. I've buttoned it over my plain black tee, but I left the top two buttons undone because it feels kinda tight in the shoulders if I do them up.

The jacket, though, is horrible. It looks almost identical to Snow's, except it's in black and somehow it seems  _flared_ at the waist. I hate it.

"Are you alive in there?" Snow asks loudly from outside the dressing room.

"J-just a minute!" I reply.

When I step out from behind the curtain, Yuj is nodding. "Turn around, let's see how it looks from all angles."

"I-I don't know..." I murmur, turning slowly. I feel foolish, like everyone in the store must be looking at me, even though there's not really anyone here except for us and the store clerks.

"I like the coat." Snow says, and Maqui nods his agreement.

"I don't." I grumble miserably. "If you like it so much, why don't you wear it?"

"Can't." Snow retorts with a smirk. "Too small."

I can't help but huff a little - I mean, it's not my fault that I haven't grown much in the last year. I'm barely five-foot-one now, and Snow still towers over me at six-foot-seven. He teases me about it every chance he gets lately, too. When Maqui and Yuj start to laugh at Snow's quip, I peel the jacket off and angrily toss it in Snow's direction. He catches it before it can hit him in his face, and the jerk is still laughing.

"Aw, c'mon!" Snow says. He lays the jacket haphazardly over one of the near-by racks of clothes and puts his hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look up at him. "We're just having some fun, don't go getting all bent out of shape."

I open my mouth to either yell at him or curse him, I'm not quite sure which.

"PREGNANT?!" Lightning's surprised exclamation is audible in the store even with the door closed, and when I look out the store front, I can see passers-by giving her and Serah an odd look.

"Seriously?" Maqui asks. "You and Serah are gonna have a baby?"

"Yep!" Snow grins and nods in Maqui's direction.

I feel kind of floored, I guess. I mean, I know Snow and Serah are married, and I know that married couples typically have kids. But I suppose I wasn't really expecting it to happen so soon. Though I guess Lightning wasn't really expecting it either, if her outburst is anything to go by.

"Way to go, Papa Snow!" Maqui shouts. "Guess I'll finally get to be 'Uncle Maqui'!"

Snow lets go of his grip on my shoulders to bump his fist against Maqui's, then he crosses his arms over his chest. He looks really happy, which honestly? Kind of ticks me off right now.

"Congratulations, Daddy!" Yuj says, slapping Snow on the back before thrusting a vest made out of thick white fur at me. "Try this on."

"No way!" I shout. I turn my back to Yuj and cross my arms over my chest. "I'm not wearing that!"

"It's totally the fashion, though!" Yuj tries to argue.

"I'd sooner wear that stupid coat!" I growl. Apparently, that's a mistake, because Maqui thrusts the coat out to me like he's trying to be helpful. Which he's not. I want to protest, but I can tell just by looking at the three of them that I probably don't stand a chance. Damn it.

"Can't wear those shoes, either." Yuj announces after I've put the coat back on. "They're too dirty."

"They're  _shoes_ , they're  _supposed_  to be dirty." I say, but Yuj has already walked off to examine the selection of footwear lining the wall. I glance at Snow in what I hope is a pleading manner. "Make him  _stop_!"

"Sorry, kiddo, Lightning's orders." Snow shrugs. "Might as well take those shoes off now."

I pull off my shoes one at a time and toss them onto the floor, then try to look any where but at Snow and Maqui's grinning faces. I feel a little relieved when Serah and Lightning walk in, but it's short-lived: Lightning looks almost as miserable as I feel being subjected to Yuj's fashion sense.

"Here you go -" Yuj stops mid-sentence when he sees me without my shoes. I can tell he's trying not to grin when he hands over a pair of tall black boots, but Snow and Maqui can't seem to contain themselves. Even Serah starts giggling.

"It's not funny!" I growl, throwing the boots on the floor and stepping into them before tightening the buckles. "Stop it!"

"It's kinda funny." Snow laughs.

"No it's not." Lightning says firmly. She walks towards me and picks up my old shoes. She must be pretty upset, because the smile she aims at me is barely more than a grimace. "Don't worry, you'll grow into them. Now come on, let's pay for everything."

I turn to go back to the dressing room for my old clothes, but Yuj has already grabbed them.

I can't help but notice how Lightning's shoulders tense as Yuj and Maqui congratulate Serah. As I follow her toward the register to pay, I wonder what that means.

* * *

 


	14. Pranksters and Presents

_Heh, I know you'll never believe it Vanille, but... I'm gonna be a dad. Who'd've thought, huh?_

_You know, I didn't believe it myself when Serah first told me. I mean, it was a bit unexpected. I thought we'd have more time as a couple - you know, just the two of us - before a kid came into the picture. But now that it's finally sunk in... I really can't wait._

_We haven't told Lightning or Hope yet, but that empty house near the docks? Well, we bought it. It took months of saving every piece of gil we could, but hey, can't live with Big Sis forever, right? Serah's kinda worried about it - well, she's worried about what's gonna happen to Lightning when we're not there. I keep trying to tell her, it's not like we're moving to New Eden or Oerba or something. It's not like we're never gonna see 'em again, ya know?_

_And it's not like I'm not a little worried, too. I mean, even though the last few weeks have been pretty uneventful, I'm still not convinced that Lightning has a handle on Hope's curiosity. And who's to say that Hope won't push Lightning a little too far when Serah and I aren't there to help mediate? But still, if we're gonna do this thing together, if we're gonna raise our own family... well, we're gonna have to let Lightning raise Hope the way she sees fit. Etro help us all._

* * *

It feels great to walk around New Eden with my family, but it's even better when we walk into a specialty shop for babies. Serah lets go of my hand to examine several displays of cribs and bassinets, while Maqui and Yuj make pretty quick work of finding the breast pumps.

"Hey Hope, look over here!" Maqui shouts.

"Huh?" Hope glances in Maqui's direction long enough to see NORA's mechanic hold the pumps up inappropriately to his flat chest.

"Whaddaya think should we get this for Serah?"

I can't help but chuckle as Hope's face turns Flandragora red.

"Cut it out, you two!" I try to sound stern, but it's kinda difficult in this situation. I mean, if Serah wasn't pregnant with my kid, I'd probably have made the same joke. "Last thing we need is to get kicked outta here."

"Uh oh, Maqui, you made Daddy mad." Yuj teases and elbows Maqui in the ribs, but Maqui just grins and grabs onto Yuj's shoulders to pull him down and mess with his styled blue hair. "Watch the hair-do!"

"More like hair-don't!" Maqui crows.

"Goof-balls." I mutter, looking over their heads to where Serah and Lightning are standing. It looks like Lightning's trying to convince Serah of something, because my wife has that intense, I'm-not-listening-to-you look on her face. I wonder if I should go over and try to help Serah, or if it'd just make the situation worse. Lightning looks... well, if I didn't know her better I'd say she was upset. I scratch the back of my head as I wonder what I should do, but then I catch Hope moving out of the corner of my eye.

He moves as far away from the rest of us as he possibly can in the large store, walking towards a section of shelves covered in plush toys. It's kinda funny to see him standing there, staring at the stuffed animals with his head tilted slightly sideways, like he can't figure out what they're doing in a kid's store. Then again, from what I remember of his room in Palumpolum, maybe he can't. Bartholomew Estheim didn't strike me as the kinda man who'd want his son to have toys when he could've been reading a book or learning some archaic science instead.

I look from Hope's back to Lightning, weighing my options. I've probably got a better chance of fixing things with Hope than fixing whatever's wrong with Lightning, so I head in his direction. He's pretty lost in thought as I approach though, because he reaches out to poke absently at the stomach of a large stuffed Moogle. It makes a sound like ringing chimes and Hope lets out a small sound of surprise, then he yelps when I put a hand on his shoulder.

"G-gah!" He knocks the toy from the shelf as he spins around to see me, clutching a hand to his chest. "D-don't do that!"

"What're you doing?" I ask. Hope bends down to pick up the Moogle, but instead of returning it to the shelf, he looks down at it with a frown. Like he's trying to remember something, or maybe he's just irritated that it's not as soft as it looks. Whatever it is, there's something about the sight of it that sends a weird shiver down my spine.

"I..." His voice trails off a bit as his brow furrows, but then Hope shakes his head and turns to put the toy back on the shelf. "... was looking for something. For the baby."

"I wouldn't, if I were you." Yuj says sagely. "Remember the fit Lebreau threw when we bought that stuffed eidolon for Nora?"

"Yeah," Maqui agrees and nods his head emphatically. "She said it 'clashed' with the design of Nora's room. Pregnant women are weird like that."

"Yeah," I shake my head at the both of them, then slap Maqui soundly on the shoulder. "Wouldn't've had anything to do with that 'stuffed eidolon' being a half-naked Siren, right?"

"Well when you put it that way..."

I pound my right fist into the open palm of my left hand like I'm about to pummel either Yuj or Maqui, and they run off grinning towards Serah and Lightning. Maqui even has the guts to turn around and flip me off with a smirk on his face, but then he backs into a bedragled looking woman whose stomach looks like it's about to pop at any moment. Serves him right, the punk, but I can't help smile as he blushes furiously and tries to apologize while Yuj is bent double with laughter.

When I turn back to face Hope, he's still looking over the shelves of toys in front of him.

I reach up to one of the higher shelves and pull down a stuffed Carbuncle. It's almost the same as the one a girl threw at Hope back in Palumpolum, but it's larger and I guess floppier, and made out of white and purple fabric. "How about this one?"

I try to hand the toy to Hope, but he shakes his head and refuses to touch it. Must remind him too much of those painful memories.

"There's Valifor. That's kinda cute." I suggest, pointing to the stuffed eidolon with my free hand while I put the Carbuncle back on the shelf.

"I guess." Hope says slowly. I knock the toy off the shelf, but he catches it before it hits the ground. He looks it over carefully, turning it in his hands as he examines the pink-and-purple eidolon. "But how do you know if you're having a boy or a girl? Isn't that... isn't that important?"

"I dunno." I reply. "When I was a kid, I was just happy to have a toy at all. Didn't matter to me what color it was."

Hope nods tersely and holds up the Valifor plush. "If it's a boy and he hates it, it's all your fault."

"Sure thing!" I agree.

Hope walks off towards the register, though he's intercepted by Yuj and Maqui who take the stuffed toy from him and start tossing it back-and-forth above Hope's head. The kid is obviously getting a bit frustrated, trying to jump for the toy as it soars over him, but it just makes Yuj and Maqui more determined to tease him.

Then Lightning, apparently finished trying to talk to Serah, intervenes. She plucks the plushie out of the air and presses it into Hope's hands. As he moves to pay for the toy, Lightning glares at NORA's youngest members until they scamper off to hide behind Serah. Serah looks like she's surprised and amused to be their shield, and when Hope hands her the bag with Valifor in it, her face lights up.

"It's so cute!" My wife exclaims as she hugs Hope. "Thank you."

They all head out the door, and I look back over my shoulder at the moogle on the shelf. It stares at me with big button eyes that kinda creep me out a bit, but I remember the way Hope was looking at it like it was another mystery to be solved. It might not be my cup of tea, and I might be wrong, but I grab it and pay for it as fast as I can.

"What took you so long?" Serah asks when I catch up with the group out on the street.

"It's a surprise." I say vaguely. I grab her hand and twine our fingers together, then bring it up so I can kiss the back of it. Serah smiles brightly and I grin back at her. "So what were you and Lightning talking about?"

Lightning, who's walking less than a foot away from me, glares at me from the corner of her eye.

"We weren't talking." Serah replies, and she bends forward slightly to glare back at her sister on my other side. "She was trying to convince me not to move out."

Before Lightning can start yelling at my wife in the street, I look over at her and say, "Serah told you that we've got our own place already, right?"

Lightning seems kinda floored by this new revelation, and when I look over at Serah, she seems a bit embarassed.

"She didn't really give me a chance to!" I guess I can see how that might've happened.

"Just... do whatever you want!" Lightning growls. She storms off towards the boys, walking about a foot behind them with her arms crossed over her chest defensively. "It's not like I can stop you anyway!"

"That... didn't go as well as I hoped it would." I murmur.

Serah looks at me helplessly, but nods her silent agreement.

* * *

 


	15. The Struggle, Lightning's POV

_I... can't believe it._

_Serah is... pregnant._

_My little sister... is carrying a new life inside of her._

_What the hell?_

_I can't even process it, Etro. Not really. Of all the worlds and times you showed me, of all the things I've lived through, the turmoil I've survived... not once before have I been in a time or place where Serah was with child._

_It is unimaginable, unfathomable to me. I still can't quite comprehend what's going on. Serah told me she's about two months along. How has she been pregnant for two months and I not know it? There was a time in my life when I could just look at her and know her darkest secrets, pluck them from the air as easily as snapping my fingers. Is it a sign that I'm becoming to lax in my old age, to be so blind to what must have been obvious signs? Maybe I'm just losing my touch, or Serah's getting better at hiding things from me. I mean, hell, I didn't even know they'd bought a house until Snow said so when we were shopping in New Eden. Serah had told me only minutes before that they were thinking of moving - not that they were ready to move out!_

_Is our house really that bad? It seems so nice to me - it fits the four of us just right, there's still plenty of space inside that we can all avoid eachother if we really want to. There's even enough property behind the house that, if they really wanted to, we could easily build on additions to make a nursery. Cheaper than buying a whole goddamned house on the other side of town. Why do they want to change something that works?_

_Maybe it's me. Maybe Serah thinks I'm an awful person to subject her child - my future niece or nephew - to on such a constant basis. I guess I might've done something wrong when I was trying to raise my sister on my own. Maybe she thinks I'll never change. If that's the case... I'm afraid she's right._

_I don't know what Hope thinks about all of this. He must be somewhat happy for Serah and Snow, because he bought a stuffed toy for the baby with his own allowance. Or maybe it's his way of trying to convince them to stay. I guess it's possible he might feel as responsible for them wanting to move as I do. He's been... pretty quiet lately, though. Especially when Serah and Snow start talking about Their House._

_Sazh tells me I should just let go of it - everything about this whole mess that bothers me. He reminds me - far too often, and far too smugly - that I shouldn't have expected anything less, since I'm the one who married them in the first place. Married couples typically have children and move away from their parents..._

_But I'm not Serah's mom. Not anyone's mom. And I don't know what I'm going to do when it's just me and Hope living in this big, half-empty house._

* * *

Three weeks.

It's been three weeks since Serah and Snow moved out of our home, and into their new house. Three weeks of what should be relaxing, quiet, Snow-free peace that are somehow... not. Silence has settled over this place, so much so that it feels more like a temple than a home. I can't walk through a room without seeing Serah's touch everywhere, without imagining Snow walking in and saying something irritating or inappropriate.

And walking past the door of their bedroom on my way to my own is much, much worse. I often find myself standing frozen in front of that door, imagining the conversations that must've gone on behind it. When Serah found out she was pregnant, and shared that information with her husband. Their decision to buy a house, to leave, without even discussing it with me or thinking how it would effect us... Sometimes, just thinking about it makes me so mad that I yank the door open to yell at them. And then the demons of my mind fade like ghosts, leaving me in an otherwise empty room.

Who knows if Hope is having the same difficulty? Any more, when he's not trailing after Yuj and Maqui he's in his room, sitting in his desk chair and holding that damned stuffed Moogle in his lap.

I wanted to burn that thing on the spot as soon as I saw Snow give it to Hope. I don't care if it does have button eyes and visible seams, it reminds me too much of that alternate timeline, when Serah... No, I can't think of that. It's bad enough that I will always remember it, but I think Hope's convinced I hate the toy _because_ it's a toy and he's fifteen. Because he _doesn't_ remember clutching Mog to his chest as Valhalla and Gran Pulse merged together, doesn't remember Noel's tears as he clutched my sister's corpse to his chest on top of that damned airship.

I wonder how Snow knew that Hope would love that stuffed toy, and just why the moron picked a Moogle of all damned things. If I'd known that was all Hope had needed to make him happy, I'd have gone to New Eden myself months ago and bought him a dozen. I... don't want to admit it, but maybe Snow will be... an okay father. Maybe even a good one.

Damn.

"Lightning?"

I turn around to see Hope sitting on the sofa. It's pretty early, and I'm just returning from the first night patrol watch I've had in over a month. Last night was the first night in over a year - if ever - that Hope slept in a house that was completely empty.

"Yeah?" I ask, pausing at the bottom of the stairs.

Hope gets up and walks towards me, then to my surprise wraps his arms around my waist. He looks pale, and exhausted, and I should've known that he wouldn't sleep well - if at all - last night. I put my left hand on the top of his head and rub his back with my right, trying to buy time to find the words I should say to make him feel better.

"I'm glad you're home." Hope murmurs into my jacket.

I don't know what to say to that - because even though I'm happy to see Hope and it makes me glad that he missed me, I'm not thrilled to be home. And I don't want to risk our tentative peace by telling him he should've gone over to Sazh's if he didn't want to sleep in the house by himself. 

Serah could get away with saying something like, "I missed you, too" or "Did you wait up for me?" but I don't feel comfortable trying it myself. Hope would probably think I was sick if I did. And Snow... though I hate to admit it, Snow would probably try to get Hope to sleep somehow, even if it meant running him ragged. But I'm exhausted myself, I don't have the energy to trick the kid into something that's only going to make us both more tired.

So I push Hope away a bit forcefully by the shoulders and start making my way up the stairs. Then I pause and turn to him.

"Come on." I say.

"What?" Hope asks.

"We both need to sleep." I turn so that I'm stairing up the stairs - I don't want to see his face if he's embarassed or insulted. "Come on."

"Um..." Hope lets out a reluctant noise. "O...kay."

He follows me slowly past Serah and Snow's old room - the room that was once his, too. I don't bother changing into my night clothes - it'd just be more awkward for both of us - but I place my gunblade by my side of the mattress and turn down the covers. I pat the mattress to indicate where Hope should lay down, and he does so, staring silently towards my weapon as I tuck the blanket around him.

It kind of reminds me of when Serah was younger, and our mom was working. I used to do this for her all the time... when did I forget that?

"Sleep tight, kiddo." I murmur, and out of a long-forgotten-habit, press a kiss to Hope's forhead.

He closes his eyes and releases a long drawn-out sigh. "G'night, Lightning."

Hope is already asleep when my head touches my pillow.

* * *

 


	16. The Betrayal, Hope's POV

**After Fall**

 

_Going to New Eden was... an experience. I think you might've liked it, mom. There were so many shops and the streets were full of food venders and shoppers... It was almost like being back in Palumpolum. You know, before the Purge._

_We found out that Serah's pregnant. It's kinda weird, thinking that there's a mini-Snow or Serah in there, especially since Serah doesn't look any different at all. Snow's pretty excited, though. Can't stop grinning like an idiot, even when he thinks no-one's looking. I guess it's a good sign, you know, that he wants this kid. I mean, I kinda always figured Serah'd be a good mom, but I never really imagined Snow as any kind of dad before._

_But... Serah and Snow are moving. I guess they bought a house a little while ago, when they first found out that Serah was expecting. I can sort of understand, I guess. Especially since everything was so tense at home for a while. A baby probably wouldn't make that kind of situation any easier, but for a little while there I thought... maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Not that I'll ever know for sure. Not now, anyway._

_I must've looked pretty miserable when I realized that, because Yuj and Maqui bought me tako yaki from a street vendor. It was actually... really good. I know, I know, I never wanted to try them when you made them at home. I really wish I had, because it's my new favorite food. Can't believe I didn't know what I was missing._

_You know, they're pretty mischievious and goofy, and I know you'd never approve of them if you were here, but Yuj and Maqui are pretty cool. When they're not being complete jerks about my height that is. But I've got to admit, it's nice hanging out with them lately. I mean, sure they're a few years older than me, but they treat me like I'm one of them... like I'm, I don't know, a kid brother I guess. It's not like we do a whole lot - I mean, New Bodhum isn't really small, but it's not exactly a bustling city. Most of the time we scavenge junked parts from the scrap heap on the other side of the ridge, and while Maqui tinkers around we talk about things. Mostly it's Yuj and Maqui telling me stories about NORA when they were all younger._

_I thought that being a l'cie was an adventure, but I guess all of that must've been pretty boring for Snow, judging by some of the things I've heard. Lightning and Snow never talk about it, but apparently she arrested him once after joining the Guardian Corp. I've tried getting the details out of Yuj and Maqui, but they're actually pretty tight-lipped about that. It's weird, because they're really talkative about just about everything else._

* * *

 

New Eden looks different at night than it does during the day. The buildings that seem so dull in sunlight gleam with bright neon lights that flicker and flash before our awe-struck eyes while female hawkers stand in skimpy little outfits in an attempt to attract customers to their clubs. It's busier than it was the first time Lightning brought me here in the day time, and instead of middle-aged women shoppers the streets are filled with teenagers and young adults who seem to be looking to have a good time.

"C'mon, we're gonna be late for the movie!" Maqui says, tugging on the sleeve of my jacket.

"I can't move any faster!" I retort. It's hard to walk through the crowd - people are actually pushing me as they move in the opposite direction.

"We're almost there, Maqui, calm down." Yuj growls. "At most we'll miss a few previews, big deal."

"I still can't believe we're here." I say, trying to follow closely behind Yuj as he tries to cut a path for us. "You guys are sure we won't get caught?"

"Nah, Snow's too busy thinking about the baby-bump." Maqui replies. "As long as we put a little gas back in the ship, he wouldn't know if we parked it upside-down and left a note saying we did it."

It's kind of exillerating, being in New Eden without anyone else knowing. Lightning's still on night patrol, she won't be home until after dawn, and Snow hasn't been taking any runs since Serah is three days past her due-date. Everyone's been so nervous about the baby-to-come, too. Apparently that's how Snow came to be an orphan - he was such a big infant that apparently his mom bled to death after delivery. I know Lightning and Snow are both thinking that that could happen to Serah, but it's made them both unbearable to be around the last few months. So when Yuj and Maqui suggested we could use Snow's distraction and Lightning's work schedule to spend some stress-free time in New Eden, I jumped at the chance.

"Besides, even if we do get caught, it'll be worth it, right?" Yuj asks. "Ah, here we are, guys!"

The theatre is huge, even by old Palumpolum standards, with a scrolling marquis in the front with the various movies being played. Yuj leads us up to the ticket counter and pays for three tickets to see the action flick that apparently everyone's talking about: The Rise of Pulse. The lead actor is supposed to play a l'cie with a positive spin, unlike some of the other big name flicks, so I'm sort of anxious to see if the plot is any good.

"Let's get snacks!" Maqui says, enthusiastically joining a long line of movie-goers already waiting to get their popcorn and candy.

"I'll go save our seats." I say.

Yuj nods slowly. "Good idea. We'll meet you in there."

I show my ticket to the ticket taker, and as he rips the lower half of the ticket away he tells me to go to theatre twenty-two. I nod and begin the trek down the long hallway. It's not really crowded, though there are a few couples walking towards me on their way to the exit. There's one particular couple that is impossible not to notice, because the woman is giggling loudly as she clings to the man's arm, and he's leaning into her with a large grin on his very familiar face.

Suddenly, I can't move. I can't breathe. A few people mutter insults at me as they walk around me, but I can't do anything but stare. Because he's supposed to be dead, not in New Eden watching a movie with some strange woman, apparently having a great time.

They notice me when they're about five feet away from me. The woman makes a tsking noise and opens her mouth like she's going to insult me too, but he's faster than she is.

"Hope?" he asks. He doesn't look surprised to see me at all.

I don't know what to do. Part of me wants to cry, but a bigger part of me wants to hit him. Or roast him with one of the spells I learned as a l'cie. My body isn't sure what to do either, so I stand there with my hands clenching and unclenching at my sides as the woman looks to the man - to my father - and asks, "Is this... one of your students?"

"Darling, why don't you go call the driver, hm?" he suggests, and the woman goes off silently to do his bidding. When he looks at me now, at least he has the decency to look ashamed of himself.

"I'm sorry." he says. "I never dreamed... It's good to see you looking well."

"How..." I try to ask him a question, but my throat feels too tight to make much sound. My father steers me towards one of the benches that line the walls between theatres and I sink down on it wearily.

"Everything's been so crazy since Orphan was destroyed." he murmurs. "President Rygdea requested my assistance rebuilding the cities of Cocoon, and then he made me Director of the Academy."

I try to scoff at him, but it comes out more like a gasp of pain. I guess it is, because my chest is aching.

"We've been working on breaking the stigma of l'cie, but it's still not easy. Sylvia's still not entirely comfortable with the idea, I'm afraid..."

"Sylvia?" I ask.

My father motions in the direction the woman went, and touches his glasses the way he always did whenever he was nervous. "My... wife."

"... wife." I repeat. I stand up, shaking. Married. My dad is remarried. He was busy, he says. He knew I was out here somewhere, he says. But somewhere in all of the time that's gone by, he had time to get married. To a woman who would be terrified of me - of him! - if she knew what I had been. What I am.

I stagger a few steps away from my father, who grabs me by the shoulder and spins me around. I look up into his face: there's guilt there, I think. Maybe. Maybe I just think I see it because I want him to feel guilty about something.

"Hey!" Yuj shouts, and suddenly he and Maqui are standing on either side of me. "Let him go!"

My father removes his grip on me and walks away without another word. I stare into the space he was occupying only seconds before until Maqui waves a hand in front of my face.

"Are you okay, Hope?" he asks. "You look really pale."

"I'm fine." I say, but I know it's not true. I feel like I've been run through by a Tyrant. "Let's... let's just go watch the movie. Okay?"

Neither Yuj nor Maqui argue, but I can tell as we walk towards theatre twenty-two that they're not going to let it go for long.

* * *

 

~fin?

 

 **Note:**  I've been trying to stay more true culturally during the writing of these stories, but this chapter is a little off. I know in major cities (like Tokyo) when you purchase movie tickets, they actually assign you your seat at the time of purchase unlike (most) of the theaters in America. Sorry.


	17. The Countdown, Snow's POV

_Serah and I are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our child, Vanille. I don't know if you've got any influence where you're at, but if you do, tell 'em to hurry the heck up. Serah's tired of being tired, and the kid's already three days overdue. Lightning's starting to say if Serah doesn't go into labor soon, she's gonna cut the kid out herself. I think she might be joking, but I'm not sure Serah and I wanna take that chance, ya know?_

_Of course, we're all still a bit on edge. I mean, I know it never really came up before, but... I kinda killed my mom when I was born. I mean, she was a pretty frail woman to begin with from what they used to say back when I was a kid, but it didn't help that I was a pretty big new born. Well over nine pounds of skin and bone, when the village average was closer to six-and-a-half. Granted, Serah's taller than my mom reportedly was, but we're all still nervous._

_I don't... I don't want to lose her again._

_None of us does, of course. I mean, Lightning's spent pretty much her every waking moment helping to take care of Serah. When she's not on patrol, that is. And Sazh has been trying to help out, too. Even found the best midwife that either Cocoon or Pulse has to offer, and brought her back to help deliver the baby. And Dajh has been leading Serah's students in making cards and pictures to hang on the walls to cheer her up while we wait impatiently for the big day to arrive. Hope helped us get the nursery ready, though you should've seen him. He was like this little task-master, telling Yuj and Maqui where to put the furniture and how to display the toys on the shelf... For a minute there, I thought he'd turned into a miniature of Lightning._

_Gadot and Lebreau have been bringing Nora around more frequently, too. I think they're hoping if Serah holds her enough, the baby will decide it wants to come out and play. At this point, we'll try just about anything._

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Serah's water breaks at a little past two in the morning. Her face is calm as she tells me through gritted teeth to go get Lightning and Lebreau, and I rush so quickly towards the door that she has to remind me that I'm not really dressed to go outside. So I turn around and pull on my pants and a shirt, then make my way across the sand.

I'm barely half-way to Gadot and Lebreau's house when I realize there is only one airship - Sazh's - parked on the hill. My airship - my family's livelihood - is missing. And I know there's only one person who could've taken it: Yuj. He's like my co-pilot, even though Sazh's only given him clearance to fly solo during daylight with a licensed pilot. I can't help but wonder how he could've taken my keys.

The light is on in the upstairs window, and Gadot is on the porch when I arrive.

"I was just headin' out to tell you that _Shiva_ 's missing." he says. "Don't tell me -"

"Yeah, Serah's water just broke." I reply.

"I'll go tell Lebreau." Gadot turns to go back inside the house, but then pauses at the door. "I don't know how long it's been missing. I only just noticed when Nora woke us up."

"I'll check it out. Gotta go get Lightning first." I sigh and glance towards the ridge on the other side of the perimeter fence. Who knows where Lightning's patrolling tonight? "Thanks though." 

"Sure thing."

As Gadot goes inside the house, I make my way towards the ridge. Is it worth stopping by Lightning's place to see if Hope's there, or should I just assume he's been sucked into the schemes of NORA's youngest members? Hell, it's not like I can blame him if he has. It wasn't that long ago that Gadot and I were dragging Lebreau, Yuj and Maqui into schemes of our own. Maybe I'll forget to mention the ship to Lightning. If they make it back before the baby's born and Lightning doesn't notice... well, they can consider themselves lucky.

Cecil Gray, the gate's guard, waves when he spots me headed his way.

"You ain't got duty today, whatcha doin' out here so goddamned early?" he asks. Then he nods to himself. "Aaaah, I know: wife's gone inta _lay_ -bor, ain't she?"

"You got it." I say with a smile. "Can you tell me where Lightning is?"

"Gotta ask?" Cecil motions over the ridge with his thumb. "Paddra ruins. Ain't never _no_ -where else. Should I get 'er on the radio?"

"Depends. Did she take a land bike?"

"Mayor take a _bike_?" Cecil scoffs. " _You_ know she hates 'em things."

"Yeah, yeah. Should've known." I sigh. "Ah, shit. It'll be faster if I go get her myself."

"Prob-ly." Cecil agrees. He tosses me a key to one of the land bikes parked just on the other side of the fence. "Better be careful. Them Behemoth fellas been lurkin' in the Pass."

I wave and throw my leg over the land bike, then turn the key in the ignition. It roars to life and I gun it, steering up the precarious path towards Yaschas Massif. Cecil wasn't kidding - the behemoths seem to have swarmed the area. I narrowly avoid being rammed in the side as one races towards me, and the bike's engine whines in protest as I kick it into the fastest gear it's got.

The Pass of Paddra has changed considerably since the earthquake. I can see the closed stone door of Bhunivelze's lost Shrine - where Hope nearly died - even in the darkness. The all-seeing eye, symbol of the fal'cie God, gleams ominously as I speed past it, bowling over several goblins as I go. A few sharp turns, and I can see the familiar ruin ahead. It, too, has changed. The earthquake uncovered a vast number of buildings that had been buried for centuries, and revealed a door similar to the one that contains Bhunivelze's shrine. It sits, carved into the side of what Aschelle believed was the entrance to the Seer's sacred palace, surrounded by pictoglyphs that cover the whole wall. What it means, perhaps only Hope could figure out. But he's been surprisingly reserved where the ruins are concerned lately. Perhaps his last close call scared him off of archaeology for good.

"Lightning!" I shout as I send the bike hurtling down the make-shift dirt trail that leads into the ruined city.

She's standing on the plaza above the first set of steps, but when she sees me headed toward her, she moves to meet me in the uneven square.

"Serah -" she starts to say.

"Water just broke. I came as fast as I could. Lebreau's with her by now." I reply. "Get on."

Lightning gives me a look - Cecil's right, she's always hated land bikes - but she climbs on behind me and reluctantly puts her arms around my waist.

It's faster on the way back to New Bodhum: as Lightning sees enemies impeding our path, she takes them out with well-aimed spells. By the time I park the bike and turn off the engine, barely more than an hour has passed.

Lightning jumps off the back of the bike and starts walking quickly towards my house.

"Did you call the midwife? Was she having contractions?" Lightning asks.

"I figured Lebreau would get the midwife since I had to get you." I reply. I'm a little irritated with Lightning - she knew Serah was due to go into labor any day, she should've taken a land bike on patrol. It would've saved me an hour having to go out and get her, and she could've been with her sister thirty minutes ago. "And I don't know about the contractions. I was kinda just freaking. Almost went outside to get Lebreau in my underwear."

Lightning doesn't even turn around to glare at me, she just murmurs under her breath. "Idiot."

When we get inside the house, Lebreau greets us as she's coming downstairs.

"It's could be a while." she says. "Might as well try to get a little sleep while you can, Snow. You won't be getting a lot when the baby's born!"

"How'm I supposed to sleep?" I ask. I'm too nervous, too worried about Serah, to even think of attempting it. "I want to see Serah."

"I doubt she's gonna want to see you." Lightning says. "When Lebreau was in labor, all she said was how much she hated Gadot and how unfair it was that men can't experience the pain of childbirth."

"Hey!" Lebreau growls. "That wasn't until towards the end!"

Lightning shrugs and moves past Lebreau on the stairs, following the sound of Serah's pained gasps and moans to the bedroom.

I make it just through the door when Serah throws a pillow at me.

"I don't want you to see me like this!" she says, gasping. "I look awful!"

"No you don't." I say. "You look so beautiful!"

"Liar!" Serah moans as another contraction occurs, and the midwife rubs her back. Lightning is sitting on the bed beside Serah, just holding her hand and petting her hair.

I... feel useless. I did this to her, put her in this kind of pain. I want to make it better, but I know nothing about childbirth. Well, just the little bit that I overheard when Lebreau was in labor with Nora... but even that didn't seem very informative.

"I'll just..." I point towards the hallway. "...yeah. I'll go."

I walk down the stairs, feeling pretty dejected. I should probably listen to Lebreau and try to sleep, but I don't think I could even if I wanted to.

I sit down in my chair in the livingroom and look out the window that overlooks the porch, just in time to see my airship coming in to land.

* * *

 


	18. The Arrival, Lightning's POV

_Even though I was present for the birth of Nora, nothing could have prepared me for the birth of Serah's child._

_It seemed like everything was different: every moan or whimper sounded a thousand times worse than any sound Lebreau might have made, and every time I tried to wipe the sweat from her brow, I wondered if she looked paler than usual because of excessive blood loss. I kept my fear inside, though, because I didn't want to scare my sister. And there wasn't anything that anyone could have done if something like that was going to happen._

_But then Serah gave a massive push, and the midwife held in her hands a writhing infant. My hands were shaking as I cut the umbilical cord, and as the midwife went to clean the baby up, Lebreau palpated Serah's stomach to deliver the afterbirth._

_Serah looked up at me with those big eyes shining with tears of joy and said, 'I did it.'_

_I'm so proud of her. When the midwife handed the swaddled baby to Serah, I couldn't help but marvel at this little bundle of life that had caused so much grief, so much worry over the eight hours of labor that Serah had had to endure. In the short amount of time that Serah held her child, I've never seen her so happy before._

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

I let Lebreau and the midwife tend to Serah and the baby, and go to fetch the proud new father. I assume I'll find him wide-awake and pacing the floor downstairs, but as I come down the steps, I find that I'm wrong.

At some point over the last eight hours, Yuj, Maqui and Hope arrived. From the way Hope is curled up and asleep on one end of the sofa, I assume he fell asleep first - Snow is sleeping awkwardly on the other end of the couch with his legs hanging over the side to avoid crowding or crushing Hope. Maqui is asleep in the chair that Snow typically prefers to sit in, though his legs are hanging over the arm of the chair, and Yuj is snoring softly, sitting propped up against the back of the chair.

For a moment, I just stand at the bottom of the stairs and commit the scene to memory. I've never seen Yuj or Maqui at rest - they're always up to or into something - and in the months since Serah and Snow moved out, with the exception of that one night when Hope slept in my room, I haven't seen him sleep so soundly. I know that when I go to wake Snow, it will probably wake Hope up, too.

Still, it wouldn't be right to let Snow sleep. I cross the short distance to where Snow is laying and shake his shoulder roughly.

"Huh?" he murmurs, opening an eye to glare up at me blearily. "What's going on?"

"Baby's here." I whisper.

"Is... Serah...?"

"She's fine." I reply. "Go on. Go be with your wife and your son."

Snow sits up slowly and drags his hand wearily over his face before stretching. He stands up slowly and looks at me, then puts a hand on my shoulder.

"Thank you."

I watch him go up the stairs, then turn my attention to Hope and the others. They're still asleep, but it's a restless sleep now. They'll be awake soon, and when they are, they'll be hungry. Should I go switch places with Lebreau so she can make breakfast, or should I give Snow and Serah a few more minutes to be as a family?

Hope murmurs incoherently and turns restlessly but doesn't wake. I wonder what he and the other two were up to to be sleeping this late. Just when did they come over anyway? I guess Snow could've gone to tell them that Serah was in labor after she'd pretty much thrown him out of the room, but I don't think he'd go wake Hope up knowing that labor can be hours long.

There's a knock on the door, and I hurry to answer it before any of the boys wake up. Sazh and Dajh are on the other side, grinning and carrying gifts.

"Is the baby here?" Dajh asks excitedly.

"Yeah, he's here." I say as I smile down at Dajh. He's got a stuffed Chocobo in his hands, even as his pet Chocobo, Chocolina, trills and perches on the top of his head. I look up at Sazh. "Snow just went up to see them for a minute. Everyone else is still sleeping."

"So I got here in time. No need to go forcin' anybody to eat your cooking." Sazh teases me before pushing a large bottle of champagne into my hands. "I'll let you open that while I whip up something good."

"What, scrambled eggs or grilled cheese?" I retort. It's about the only thing Sazh can make, but he makes both well. I can't even get Hope to try two bites of mine.

"Eggs!" Yuj groans. He gets slowly to his feet, grimacing as his joints crack in protest of his falling asleep in such an odd position. He stumbles towards us in the kitchen and pats Dajh affectionately on the head before collapsing on a barstool. Chocolina trills in protest, having barely escaped being crushed, and pecks Yuj on the head before settling back on top of Dajh's. "Please!"

"Daddy, can I meet the baby now?" Dajh asks.

"Why don't you go wake up Maqui and Hope?" I suggest. "That way they can meet the baby, too."

"Okay!"

I sink down onto the stool beside Yuj who is now holding his head in his hands as he leans on the bar. He turns his face slightly to look at me out of the corner of his eye.

"They're not gonna be happy about that." he says. "Hope fell asleep around five, but the Maqui and I probably fell asleep around seven."

"Were you all that worried about Serah?" I ask. It's well after ten in the morning - why were they up so late?

"Don't pretend you weren't, girly." Sazh says, cutting into the egg omelette. He places a slice on each of two plates that he then sets in front of Yuj and myself. "Even if you weren't up there with her, you'd've been awake worrying, too."

"She's my sister." I reply. ' _Not theirs'_ goes unspoken. I stare at Yuj, wondering what happened in those hours I was upstairs with my sister - where I belonged. Somehow, I doubt he'd been where he was supposed to be.

Before I can determine which direction to begin my investigation, Hope sits up and stretches with a loud yawn. He looks at me from over the back of the sofa, frowning slightly.

"Lightning?" he asks. "Is everything... I mean, the baby..."

"Everything's fine."

"You hungry, kid?" Yuj asks. Hope gets up and walks towards us, stopping to peer over Yuj's shoulder like he's not quite sure. Yuj cuts off a small piece of the omelette on his plate and spears it on his fork, then feeds it to Hope. 

Hope chews thoughtfully with his hand over his mouth. "Mm, it's good. Thanks."

"You want some more?" Sazh asks, but Hope shakes his head.

"No, thanks though." Hope replies. Then he turns to me. "Is it... okay to see the baby now?"

"I dunno." I say honestly. The omelette in front of me is almost entirely gone, my hunger sated. I stand up carefully. "We can always knock on the door and see what Serah and Snow have to say. C'mon. I'll go with you."

"I'll eat Hope's eggs, Sazh!" Maqui chimes, pulling himself into the stool I just vacated.

As Sazh feeds Maqui, I lead Hope and Dajh up the stairs towards Serah and Snow's room. The door is open, letting us see Snow sitting on the edge of the bed next to Serah, the both of them staring down at their newborn son. I knock carefully on the doorframe.

Snow and Serah both wave us inside, and while Dajh climbs onto the bed on Serah's other side, Hope and I lean over Snow to see the baby.

"What's his name?" Hope asks softly.

"It's Noel." Serah replies. "Noel Villiers."

* * *

 


	19. The Interloper, Serah's POV

_We named him after you: Noel Villiers. I bet you'd find that funny, wouldn't you Noel?_

_Of course, he doesn't look anything like you. Even at eight pounds and three ounces, twenty inches long... he's already got my eyes, and this adorable little tuft of hair that looks jus like Snow's. And he's healthy. That's what really matters._

_You should have seen Hope the first time he laid eyes on little Noel. I don't think he looked that excited when Nora was born, but then again, he's never been close to Gadot or Lebreau. The first time I put Noel in Hope's arms, I wished that maybe he would remember... everything. The timelines. You._

_But... he didn't._

_It was foolish of me to hope that, I guess._

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

It's hard to believe that Hope is turning sixteen today.

Noel is barely eight days old and fussy as Claire holds him in her arms, sitting at the table in the house we all used to share.

"Oh, hush!" I say sweetly. "You're fine, Mommy's right over here."

"Maybe we should just ask Sazh or Lebreau to do the cooking." Claire suggests, wincing as Noel cries loudly.

"I just need to put the cake in the oven, then we'll be good for about an hour." I reply. "Besides, Lebreau is busy decorating and Sazh is picking up the present. So you're just going to have to get used to your nephew being a little loud."

"Must get that from his father." Claire grumbles. She thrusts Noel at me when I sit next to her, then rubs at her ears. " _You_ weren't that loud when you were a baby."

"You're not loud!" I say to Noel as I touch his little nose with my finger. "Auntie Claire just isn't very good with babies, is she?"

Claire shrugs and shakes her head at me, but doesn't try to argue. 

Sazh shouldn't be home for another hour yet and none of NORA's members ever knock, so the knock at the door is a little unexpected. Claire and I exchage curious glances before she gets up and walks towards the door, her left hand on the hilt of her gunblade. She opens the door slightly, peering out through the small opening, and I see her shoulders tense.

"You!" she growls. 

She opens the door all the way, and I can see a man several inches taller than her standing on the porch. He looks wealthy from the clothes he's wearing, and the insignia on the arms of his jacket indicate he's some sort of Cocoon government employee.

"Where is he?" he asks, forcing his way past my sister.

I clutch Noel to me instinctively as the strange man searches the house - looking behind the sofa and under tables and chairs with this air of desperation.

"Who is this man, Claire?" I ask as my sister comes towards me, glaring at the man.

"He's Hope's father, Bartholomew." Claire replies. Her voice is as firm with irritation as it was back when Snow and I first announced we were engaged - almost two years ago.

After ten minutes of searching the house, Bartholomew Estheim returns to the living room. He looks frantic at this point, his glasses skewed on his patrician nose and his clothes somewhat dishevelled.

"Where is my son?" Bartholomew demands.

"Your son?" Claire replies. "The one you apparently forgot you had for two years?"

"Claire!" I hiss, kicking her slightly in the shin.

"It's not that simple!" Bartholomew retorts. "I thought you'd all been turned to crystal like the legends say, and by the time I realized that somehow you weren't, I was consumed by obligations. I knew you would take care of him until I could fetch him myself."

"Really?" Claire has her arms folded across her chest. "You just assumed we'd take care of him for you, never bothered to send a message at all to let Hope know that you weren't dead, and now you've come to what? Take him back to Cocoon?"

"He should finish his education." Bartholomew says. "I can get him into the Academy. He'll be cared for there, and I'm sure he'll go far."

"I don't think so." Claire replies. "Get the hell out of my house."

Claire steps forward threateningly, and Bartholomew crabs sideways towards the door.

"If this is about Sylvia, we had a talk. She's willing to make an attempt with Hope."

"Get. Out."

"I will involve legal action if I must. Claire, is it?" Bartholomew reaches the door, then looks from me to my sister. "But either way, my son will be coming with me. It's only a matter of time."

Bartholomew reaches for the door handle, but it's already being turned. Yuj and Maqui walk in, their arms full of streamers and strands of lights. When Yuj sees Bartholomew, he drops the decorations in his arms and points at him.

"You!" he shouts. "The pervert!"

"Pervert?!" Bartholomew bellows. "How dare you -"

Yuj shakes his head and continues pointing, then looks to Claire.

"This creep stopped Hope when we went to see a movie! Hope was so upset, he wouldn't even talk about it! What the hell did you do to him that night, creep?!"

"He's not a creep." I inform them. "He's Hope's father."

* * *

 


	20. Ruin's Revisited, Hope's POV

_Another year has gone by, mom. So much has changed._

_I... I saw dad. He's alive, and I guess he works for the government on Cocoon. He's also... remarried. To a woman who hates me, though she doesn't know it I guess, since dad never told her that I'm a former l'cie. I don't think you would even blame me for hating him so much right now. I mean, how could he have done all this without even looking for me? He said that he knew I could take care of myself... but did he really believe that, or was he just saying it to make himself look better?_

_Because I... I can't take care of myself. Not completely. I mean, I can handle myself pretty well in a lot of fights with the monsters of Pulse - as long as it isn't a behemoth or an oremantoise, I'm pretty capable. But I get caught off guard sometimes, or I don't think things all the way through._

_I have to learn to trust others to lend me their strength, their wisdom. It's something that dad's never had to do, so he takes it for granted that I'm just like him._

_And I'm not like him. I've only just turned sixteen and I'm still trying to decide what to do with myself. I can't just rely on Lightning to take care of me forever. I want to contribute to New Bodhum, I want to have my experience as a l'cie mean something more than people fearing me or being in awe of me._

_I want to make a difference. Maybe then dad will see what he left behind, what he thought he could just forget about. Maybe then he'll understand he was wrong._

_Maybe._

\----------------------------------------------------------

"Where are you taking me?" I ask Snow. The blindfold across my eyes is starting to itch, and I feel a bit nervous every time I stumble over the uneven ground.

"Almost there, just a little bit further..." Snow replies, tugging on my wrist to keep me moving in the same direction that he's moving in. He stops abruptly and puts his hands on my shoulders. "Ready?"

I bite my lip nervously. What kind of birthday present is this, I wonder? Slowly, I nod.

"Okay! Here we go!"

Snow yanks off the blindfold and steps to the side, revealing the Paddra Ruins behind him. It's been months - almost a year - since I've seen them. The earthquake, the one I caused when I opened the Shrine of Bhunivelze, did more damage than I realized. Of the original ten standing pillars, three have fallen completely, and the other seven are now braced with metal girders. The plaza where Aschelle's headquarters had once been stationed is now completely empty - even the piles of debris and broken tiles have been cleared away.

"It's changed so much!" I exclaim. "It's like the earthquake gave up more of Paddra's secrets."

"Yeah. I thought you might like this better than a book or boomerang or something." Snow agrees. "It's our little secret though, okay? Lightning'd probably kill me if she knew I bribed Cecil to let you see the ruins."

"I promise!" I reply. "This is the best present ever!"

We walk the narrow path down to the heart of the ruins, and I can't help but grin. I forgot how alive I feel when I'm here, surrounded by ancient mysteries that cry out to be solved.

"It's so... quiet." I murmur as we walk up stairs towards the so-called Seer's palace.

"Well, yeah." Snow replies. "Aschelle's team's not here, and ever since the Shrine of Bhunivelze was opened not so much as a flan comes this far down the Pass. It's kinda weird."

It's really creepy, the silence. Not even a bird can be heard in the ruins, just the sound of our shoes walking over stone. And then I'm standing in front of this small door on the side of the Seer's Palace, craning my neck to look at the glyphs carved into the stone wall surrounding it. I can't see the symbols towards the top of the wall, but the ones closer to my eye level seem to indicate that the door leads to the priests' quarters of the palace. It's possible that these priests were responsible not only for taking care of the Seer of Paddra, but for presenting the offerings to the Shrines, like the one dedicated to Bhunivelze. 

I run my fingers over the carved images, trailing my hand across until I reach the carved door. It's almost exactly like the one at the Shrine of Bhunivelze, though the crystal symbol looks more like 'Etro'. I wish I'd known Snow was bringing me here - I could've brought Alexander's eidolith with me. Who knows what is waiting behind this door? There could be books, scrolls... maybe even something that could tell us how to remove Fang and Vanille from their crystal stasis.

"I thought you'd like to see that." Snow says, coming up behind me. He puts a hand on Etro's symbol and leans against the door, completely oblivious to the wealth of knowledge that could lay beyond it. "Kinda reminded me of that Shrine you found. Neat, huh?"

"It's another shrine of sorts." I inform him. "Dedicated to the Priests of Etro. 'Beyond this door, they rest.'"

"Sounds like a cemetery to me." Snow shrugs. "Either way... we'd better get going. Can't be late to your own party, right?"

"I guess..." I reply.

Snow seems to sense my lack of willingness to leave: he puts an around around my shoulders and practically drags me from Etro's door. I can't help but glance back over my shoulder at the ruins, even as I'm herded forward. 

For a moment, I think I can see the golden shimmer of something like a cieth stone but far, far larger. Then I blink, and when I look again... whatever the apparition was... is gone.

* * *

 


	21. The Looming Threat, Snow's POV

_I wonder what you think of this mess, Nora. I mean, I'm glad that Bartholomew is okay - we all thought he was dead for a while there, ya know? But I can't help but feel a little irritated at the guy for barging back into Hope's life and trying to turn everything upside down._

_Lightning was - is - pretty mad about the whole situation. Apparently, when Hope and I were examining the ruins - something that Lightning doesn't know about and will hopefully never find out about - Bartholomew appeared out of the blue and told Lightning to lawyer up. He's serious about taking Hope back to Cocoon, wants him to get an 'education' and all that. Never mind that the rest of us have been the ones taking care of Hope as best we could for almost two years, not even so much as a 'thank you' crossed that guy's lips._

_I'm starting to understand why Hope and his dad seemed so distant when we were all in Palumpolum._

_Sorry, sorry. That wasn't nice of me to say. You must've seen_ something _good in Bartholomew, right? Or you wouldn't have married him and Hope... probably wouldn't be here._

_It's just... well, Lightning doesn't like surprises, let alone bad surprises. When Hope and I got back to the house for his sixteenth birthday party, she kinda jumped on him about Bartholomew threatening her._

_And then she and I found out where Yuj, Maqui and Hope had gone the night before Noel was born._

_Apparently, it'd been innocent enough - I mean, hell, Gadot and Lebreau and me used to borrow airships all the time for a joyride, so I can sympathize. And we'd all been so stressed over Serah and the baby that it really wasn't surprising that the boys had gone off to New Eden to see a movie and catch a break from us irritable adults. They'd been planning on having a little fun, then coming home._

_It wasn't like they'd known that Hope would run into Bartholomew there. Apparently, Hope hadn't told Yuj or Maqui much about the encounter, either, because Serah told me later that Yuj had accused Bartholomew of trying to molest Hope at the theatre. Guess that didn't go over so hot, either._

_And then... oh, Etro, I'm probably being stupid, but..._

_Nora, Bartholomew is married again. To a woman named Sylvia, who apparently is still afraid of l'cie. Lightning told me that Bartholomew claims she's 'willing to try' to like and accept Hope as her stepson, but..._

_Hope is still pretty upset about the whole thing, I think. I mean, who wouldn't be? And I can't help but be pretty upset myself, because he was finally getting settled - his l'cie family is_ here _, his friends are_ here _. If Bartholomew takes him to Cocoon and puts him in that forsaken Academy, I don't think any of us will get a chance to see Hope again for a very long time, if ever again._

_And that, I think, is what pisses me off the most._

_\----------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"C'mon, Hope, you've got to eat something." Serah says, frowning at Hope who is staring at his plate and shuffling food around with his fork.

We're all sitting at Lightning's table this morning, trying to offer comfort where we can. But Lightning's as sullen as Hope is - they've both been pretty quiet since Hope's birthday when Bartholomew's black cloud descended over us.

"Not hungry." Hope murmurs.

Noel senses the tension in the room, and starts crying in Serah's arms. She stands up and tries to calm him by rocking him, then gently bouncing him in her arms. When that doesn't work, she shoots me an apologetic look and takes him out onto the porch so he can feel the warmth of the sun on his face.

I don't know what to do, what to say, to make this situation less painful. I'm struggling for encouraging words when Hope excuses himself from the table and heads towards his room.

Lightning takes a small bite of the hashbrowns Serah made, but swallowing it seems to take effort.

"Bartholomew's lawyer contacted me last night." she murmurs, staring at the table. "If I don't give Hope over to Bartholomew, he's going to file charges against me for kidnapping a minor."

"You gotta be kidding!" I exclaim. "How can he -"

"Because under Cocoon law, that's what this is. I don't have any legal claim to Hope, I'm not his mom - I'm not anything to him at all. It doesn't even matter that Estheim never bothered looking for his son, they'll just argue he was out of his mind with grief over everything that's happened. Even if I fight him, it's only a matter of time before he takes Hope back."

"What does Hope think?" I ask.

Lightning shakes her head. "He doesn't want to go with his father. He told me he'd run away before that happens."

"Can't he tell Bartholomew's lawyer that?"

"Yeah, because the courts are famous for listening to the wants of teenagers." Lightning sighs sarcastically, then pushes her plate away. "I... told him I'd do whatever I could. That I'm not letting him go without a fight. But honestly? I don't know how much time I can buy us. I don't even know where to get a lawyer."

"There's bound to be lawyers in New Eden, right? Maybe someone sympathetic to the cause of former l'cie?" I suggest. "Maybe you could contact someone... I don't know, like Rygdea?"

"He's Estheim's _boss_ , you really think he's gonna want to give _me_ advice on good lawyers?" Lightning pounds her fist on the wooden table, then glares darkly at me. "You've been arrested before, _Villiers_. Do _you_ know any good lawyers?"

"That only happened a few times!" I growl. I'm a little hurt - she knows that I've never been arrested for anything _serious_. "And you know damned well no lawyers got involved in any of that!"

"Yeah, I _do_ know that." Lightning stands up suddenly and starts to gather the abandoned breakfast dishes on the table.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demand, following her to the kitchen.

Lightning's attempting to ignore me, scraping cold remnants of breakfast into containers for cold storage. I grab her wrist and force her to turn to look at me, feeling angrier with her than I have since... well, since that day Serah and I told her we were getting married.

Cold blue eyes glare up at me, and Lightning yanks her wrist out of my hand.

"It doesn't matter any more." Lightning replies firmly. "Just... forget I said anything."

Her shoulders are tense as she runs water over the dishes to rinse them.

"Uh... okay..." I turn to leave, because maybe Serah needs my help calming Noel down, or maybe... maybe someone else needs me to fix something I'm actually capable of fixing. "Are we... are we okay? I mean, you don't..."

I hear the sound of plates being stacked on top of eachother on the counter, then Lightning sighs.

"Just go, Snow." she murmurs quietly.

I'm not sure how to interpret that, but I obey Lightning's request. I leave.

* * *

 


	22. Heart of the Storm, Lightning's POV

_So much has gone so wrong, so quickly, Etro. I feel as though I'm being punished for something, though I'm not sure what._

_Bartholomew Estheim is alive and well enough to be threatening to press charges against me. Pft! Of all the things I ever imagined could happen - getting injured when I was part of the Guardian Corp, being killed or turned cei'th when I was a l'cie, losing my sister indefinitely - I never imagined I'd be taken to court for trying to take care of a kid. How was I supposed to know Estheim was alive? He's had plenty of time to come looking for his son, and apparently had the resources if the bit about working for President Rygdea is true..._

_Why is this happening to_ me _? Back when I lived in Bodhum with Serah on Cocoon, this sort of thing would never have happened. Snow was the one always getting in trouble, not me._

_You wanna know how I met Snow, Etro?_

_Ask Serah and she'd tell you she introduced us when she brought him to meet me at our house just four days into her summer vacation. Snow would tell you it was when I arrested him for assault-and-battery at Bodhum's most popular under-thirties club, The Golden Chocobo._

_But the truth? It happened years before that._

_I was just one day shy of my fifteenth birthday. My mother... was very ill at that point. She would cough for hours at a time - loud, hacking coughs that brought up blood-tinged sputum and left her too weak to do much more than sleep. I hated going home after school, because I knew as soon as Serah heard the coughing, she would look up at me with these wide eyes and ask me if mom was ever going to get better. She didn't understand that we were going to be orphaned, and I didn't have the stomach to tell her._

_So I did what any stressed teenager would've done in my shoes: I took all the allowance I'd saved up for two weeks and I skipped school to go to the arcade. I was the self-proclaimed queen when it came to fighting simulation games, especially Cei'th Hunter - ironic, I know. I had the highest score on that machine in Bodhum, and I was set to beat my old record when_ he _walked in._

 _Of course, even back then, Snow was virtually inseparable from Gadot and Lebreau. They came strutting into the arcade laughing loudly and shoving at eachother like a litter of over-eager puppies, and wouldn't you know, Snow bumped into me right before I could land that final kill... It was_ Game Over _, and I was so upset. I'd worked so hard, and I was pretty much out of gil to pay for another round..._

_I don't remember if Snow said anything - probably not, it's not really his style. But he did put a few coins in the machine, and told me to play the next few rounds on him._

_Of course, Snow and his buddies decided to play the racing games right next to me, so it was still pretty difficult to concentrate. They kept talking, cheering themselves or egging eachother on... I didn't understand the purpose, I only knew it was making me mad._

_And then that guy had the nerve to look over my shoulder after he lost a race to Gadot._

_"You're pretty good at that!" He'd said. "D'you come here a lot, 'cuz I don't remember seeing you around before."_

_I scoffed at him, then slaughtered the cei'th on the machine in front of me. The machine chirped as another bonus was added to my score, and then Snow told me his name._

_I... thought he was lying. I mean, who the hell calls their kid 'Snow'? No one I knew._

_"If your name is 'Snow'," I said, "then you can call me 'Thunder'."_

_It was a shock to me when he actually started to call me 'Thunder'. But... I went with it. After I finished playing my last game, I even let Snow buy me takoyaki from the tent vendor outside the arcade._

_"You gotta get home soon?" he asked me as we sat on the bench looking over the ocean._

_"Yeah. My sister's gonna get out of class soon. If I don't meet her in front of the gates, she'll tattle to our mom." I swallowed the last takoyaki ball and twirled the toothpick I'd used as a fork back-and-forth between my fingers. "Thanks, though. For everything. It was... fun."_

_I got up to head towards the school then, when Snow called after me._

_"Hey, Thunder!"_

_"Ye-yeah?" I didn't even turn around, I was frozen to the spot._

_"Meet me here tomorrow?" he asked._

_I think I nodded, or maybe I said 'okay'... Not that it matters. I didn't keep that appointment, that promise. When I woke up the next morning, Serah was sobbing over our mother's corpse. My whole world was suddenly upside down._

_Like it is now._

_Etro, please... lend me your strength, because I... I think I'm going to need it._

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hear Snow and Serah talking quietly together before they leave, and breathe a slight sigh of relief. What did I think I was doing, dredging up the past like that?

It's not like it matters anyway. Snow never asked me for help after I arrested him all those years ago, I did that myself. I'm the one who spoke to the man Snow had assaulted, I convinced him to drop the charges. I'm the reason Snow never needed a lawyer.

Funny, since I'm also the reason why I need a lawyer now.

I stopper up the sink and pour liquid dishcleaner into it, then fill it with hot water. Bubbles form quickly and I stare at them - those closest to the spray of the water pop quickly, only to reform away from the area of intense pressure. I wonder if I'll be able to reform myself after this legal battle with Bartholomew Estheim.

"Are they gone?" Hope asks softly, peering around the corner.

"Just left." I reply. Who knows how long Hope was hiding in the hall? I shut off the running water and put the dishes in the sink, then turn around to lean against the counter and examine Hope. He looks... well, he looks how we've both felt since Bartholomew returned. Weary. Worried. Heartsick. "Don't do that."

Hope looks up at me, bewildered. "I wasn't -"

I walk around the bar that separates the kitchen from the dining room and ruffle his hair with as much affection as I can muster. "You're blaming yourself again, aren't you? Stop it."

"But..."

"You like it here, right? You told me you don't want to live with your dad, right?" I ask, and Hope nods slowly. Silently. "So what kind of mom would I be if I didn't try to fight for you?"

Hope wraps his arms around my waist and presses his face into my shoulder. He doesn't say anything, so I just put my arms around him and rest my cheek on the top of his head.

I want to tell him that everything's going to be fine, but I... I don't like making promises I can't keep. I can't promise that it's going to be okay, but there's one thing I can say that will always be true, no matter what world, what timeline, we're in.

"I'll do my best."

* * *

 


	23. NORA's Honor, Snow's POV

_It's not easy growing up an orphan, ya know? For the most part, you're left on your own. You get lots of hand-me-downs that are either really big or really small, and you either become a good friend or a good target to the older kids. Nothing is permanent: most of the nice kids are adopted early, so it's hard to get really attached to anyone._

_That's why NORA was formed._

_It started when Gadot came to the orphanage. He was, I dunno, nine maybe? And we clicked, just knew we'd be best friends forever. But Gadot was easy to get along with where I was stubborn and hot-tempered, and he looked his age while I was as tall as some of the seventeen-year-olds. There wasn't a chance between Pulse and Cocoon that I was ever gonna get adopted, but Gadot... he had a real shot at a new family._

_A shot that he ruined when he acted out against the caretakers. He became uncontrollable, a defiant rebel aimed at annihilating any order that Sanctum tried to impose. And when the threat of being adopted was gone, he became his usual self._

_I asked him why he'd done it later that night. Why he'd ruined his chance at getting a family._

_Gadot said that he already had a family, that his big-brother needed him right where he was._

_By the time Lebreau came into the picture, we were known throughout the orphanage as the Pack. We were at turns the best behaved and the worst terrorists, so there weren't too many of the other kids that wanted to try to become a new member. I guess Lebreau thought Gadot was cute and worth pursuing, though, because she dogged us for seven months. And we tried everything to get rid of her: we called her names, I think Gadot even pushed her down a few times. But each time, Lebreau would just get to her feet, still smiling even if she was scraped or bruised. And then she'd rush head-first into whatever schemes she'd overheard us planning, like it was a race._

_Because of them, I understood what a family was supposed to mean. I understood it wasn't always easy, but you always did whatever you could to try to help._

_So I know what I have to do now._

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Holy hell, Villiers, y'ain't aged a day!" Rygdea - President of Cocoon - exclaims as I walk down _Shiva_ 's ramp.

"Funny, you look like you've aged ten years!" I retort. It's a little true, too. Rygdea's sporting a lot more gray hair than he should for a man his age, and the suit that he's wearing only makes him look older. "Guess being a President will do that, huh? How've ya been?"

Rygdea grins at me, hands on his hips. "Ya think I'm gonna buy that bullshit story, like ya came all the way up here to ask about me?"

"Yeah, well, never was very good at playing poker." I reply. "I guess you know why I'm here, huh?"

"Bart might've mentioned something about his situation to me, yeah." Rygdea nods. "Aw, hell, let's take this conversation back to my office. I got a few things ya can take back with ya, too. Would've sent 'em down myself, but we're still short on transport. Ya won't believe what it costs just to send medical supplies to Palumpolum these days, it's crazy!"

I follow Rygdea through a door that apparently leads directly to his office. He motions for me to sit in the chair on the opposite side of his desk, then walks towards what looks like a wooden cabinet. He opens one of the doors and removes some sort of alcohol in a glass decanter, then pours a small amount in two glasses.

"It ain't much, but it's the best Cocoon has to offer right now. They pulled this bottle outta Raines' house. Thirty years old, but it's got a pretty good kick to it." Rygea says as he hands me one of the glasses. "Cheers."

We knock glasses, then gulp the liquid down. It tastes like fire, burning all the way to my stomach, but it's got a pretty smooth aftertaste. Better than anything I could afford probably. I put my empty glass on Rygdea's desk, watching as he sits on the edge of his desk. Rygdea leans forward slightly and presses a button on a small box on top of the desk.

"Yes, Mr. President?" The sound of a woman's voice emits from the box.

"Send up those items I had boxed up for New Bodhum, will ya Jeanne? Thanks, doll." Rygdea releases the button and grins at me. "Just wait 'til ya see her: leg's up ta _here_ , and eyes like diamonds."

A few minutes later, Jeanne enters the room, flanked by two junior assistants carrying large boxes. They put the boxes on a small table near the door to the landing pad outside, then retreat silently. Rygdea's eyes follow Jeanne out the door, then he turns his attention to me.

"I love my job." he sighs. Then his face becomes more serious. "So, back to business. Lightning seems to be in some legal trouble, huh?"

"Yeah, and wouldn't ya know, Pulse doesn't have too many lawyers. I've looked." I reply. "I know it's not really something you wanna get involved in, but I was thinking maybe you'd know someone..."

"Someone who'd represent a l'cie, you mean?" Rygdea asks. He sighs heavily, then moves to sit in his large leather chair. "Ya know, you'd think after as much time has passed that more people would understand and accept ya'll for the heroes ya were. Are. Ya know? But some things are just... hard ta overcome."

"You make it sound like it's a disease. We're not lepers." I mutter.

"No, ya'ain't." Rygdea shrugs. "And people're startin' ta come around. But that Sylvia... ya know, Bart's wife? She's... well, she's somethin' else."

"Something I should know about?" I ask.

"Oh, I'm sure it'll get out there eventually." Rygdea says evasively with a wave of his hand.

He opens the drawer of his desk and takes a card out, then slides it across the wood between us so that I can see it. It's a business card with the name 'Maechen Ronsenburg' in bold lettering across the top. I pick the card up and turn it over: Rygdea's handwritten scrawl states tomorrow's date, eleven o'clock in the morning.

"What's this?" I ask. "Who's -"

"Lightning's lawyer." Rygdea replies. "He's a decent fella, don't care much about titles - 's long as he gets paid. He's gonna call her tomorrow, so ya'd better make sure she's at the house when he does. Maechen doesn't like bein' kept waitin'."

"Seriously?" I ask, turning the card over in my hands. I don't know whether to be glad or mad. "I flew all the way out here, and you'd already taken care of this?"

"Now, don't be like that!" Rygdea says with a frown. "I wasn't kiddin' when I said shipping costs are crazy out here. I just figured you could take these boxes since I was gonna send 'em to ya anyway and ta be honest, Jeanne's been complaining about how much space they take up. This way, everybody's happy."

"You're something else." I mutter. 

"So they tell me." Rygdea agrees cheerfully. "Besides, it was nice gettin' to chat with an ol' friend over expensive scotch."

"What the hell is this stuff anyway?" I get up and walk towards the boxes sitting on the table. Whoever packed the boxes up had tried folding the flaps of cardboard, but they hadn't done a very good job. I can see envelopes stuffed with photographs, small wooden trinket boxes, and a stuffed rabbit that's so worn that it's missing an eye. 

"When we were cleanin' out the debris from the cities, I told our national guard ta send any items recovered from former l'cie residences here. Of course, Bart's got whatever they managed to salvage from Palumpolum, but Bodhum was virtually untouched. Those are the items that survived the trip."

"Yeah? Well... I guess it's better than nothing, right?" I pick up the first box. It's a little heavier than I expected it to be, but it's nothing I can't handle.

"I'll help ya out with the other one. No use makin' two trips, right?"

Together, we lug the boxes out to the _Shiva_ and secure them with the rest of my cargo. It's a tight fit since the hold is filled with trade goods that need to go back to New Eden and New Bodhum. I wasn't expecting to bring back anything else, really.

"Well..." I feel a bit awkward after I finish strapping down the boxes, but I walk Rygdea down my ship's ramp.

As the President of Cocoon steps onto the solid landing pad, he turns and smiles at me.

"Ya gotta come see me more often, Villiers. It's kinda lonely up here at the top, and Bart's not much for conversation."

"Hey, after this thing gets settled between Estheim and Lightning, I'll bring everyone up, 'kay?" I say.

Rygdea nods. "Sounds fair. Have a safe trip, tell 'em I'm rootin' for them!"

I retreat back into my ship and get her ready for the flight home as Rygdea walks back into his office. By the time I leave Eden's airspace, I can't wait to get back to New Bodhum to give Lightning the good news.

* * *

 


	24. The Ominous Feeling, Serah's POV

_Maechen Ronsenburg is a strange man._

_At least, that's what Claire says. I guess she would know best, since he's her lawyer. They've only spoken on the phone so far, but tomorrow, Sazh is taking my sister to Eden to meet with him. With a little luck, maybe Maechen can figure out a way for Hope to stay with us and still keep Claire out of prison. I can't imagine what life would be like if..._

_No. I'm not going to think like that. Anything's possible, right? That's what I learned from the timelines - that the world is made up of infinite possibilities, and sometimes the ones we expect the least are the ones that are most likely to occur._

_I guess Claire is going to visit Rygdea after she speaks to Maechen. Snow says it's just to thank Cocoon's President for obtaining counsel for her, but... I'm not sure. I think there's something else going on there, but I don't know what. Maybe it has something to do with what Rygdea hinted at about Bartholomew's new wife. Maybe there's an attraction there._

_You'd probably know better than I would, Noel._

* * *

 

  
"Whatever you do, don't let him out of your sight." Claire says to Snow and I. I can see the worry in her eyes as she glances sideways at Hope. "I've got a really bad feeling about this."

"You won't be gone that long, will you?" I ask. Eden isn't really all that far away - barely more than a few hours flight.

"Rygdea and I are meeting for dinner. We have... a lot to talk about." Claire replies evasively. I examine her closely for any hint of what she might be trying to hide, but I've never been very good at reading my sister.

"Trust me, we'll look out for him. Just let Bartholomew try to sneak something past us!" Snow promises.

Claire doesn't appear to be completely convinced, but she nods and heads towards Hope, who is staring rather intently at the ground beneath his feet.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." Claire says.

"They can't... they can't just arrest you when you get up there, can they?" Hope asks.

"No. We're only in the preliminary hearing stage of a custody battle." Claire replies with a small shake of her head. "Unless he loses that case, Maechen doesn't think your father will actually file those charges."

Hope frowns, but nods reluctantly.

"I'll call after I've met with Maechen, so don't worry. Just listen to Serah and Snow, and look after Dajh, okay?"

"Yeah... okay." Hope replies.

Claire hugs him quickly, then presses a kiss to the top of his head. Hope's getting a bit taller now - she won't be able to do that much longer.

We watch as Claire and Sazh go up _Brynhildr_ 's ramp, then wave as the airship takes off towards Eden. Almost as soon as the ship goes over the mountains, Noel starts crying loudly.

"Oh, it's okay, it's okay." I try to soothe him, rocking him carefully. "Auntie Claire will be back soon."

We walk slowly back to Claire's house, with Dajh riding high on Snow's shoulders. Hope is slightly ahead of us, and I realize that - for the first time in months - he has Nue folded up in his back pocket. I wonder if he's carrying it because he sensed the tension in Claire, or if Claire is nervous because she sensed the tension in Hope.

It takes me an hour to calm Noel down, but once he's had his bottle I settle him into the bassinet in the living room while Hope helps me prepare dinner. I teach him how to cut the vegetables properly without chopping off a finger and then show him how to make a simple rice curry while Snow and Dajh set the table.

Claire calls after we finish eating. Hope answers it before Snow gets even halfway across the room, and immediately puts Claire on speaker.

"It went well." she says. "The fact that we were both complete strangers prior to being made l'cie and then taking down Orphan is unprecedented, and with Cocoon's well-documented fear of l'cie, Maechen thinks we have a shot at winning this thing."

"That's great news!" I say.

Claire nods, then looks off-screen for a moment. She holds up her hand and makes the universal sign for 'one minute' before looking back towards us.

"Yeah. Sazh and I are getting ready to head over to meet Rygdea. How are things on your end?"

"We're fine!" Hope exclaims. "Serah's teaching me to cook!"

"What, you getting tired of military rations already?" Claire asks with a smile. "Just don't burn the house down before I get home."

"Yeah, yeah." Hope replies. He smiles, too, but it doesn't remain for long.

"I'm gonna have to go. But we'll see you all tomorrow, okay?"

We all say our goodbyes, then Hope hangs up the phone. The mood is certainly lighter, but there still seems to be something... off.

"I feel it too." Snow whispers to me as I start cleaning up. "I had Cecil park one of the landspeeders by the back road in case something happens. I got the key right here in my pocket."

"Maybe we should all sleep in the same room tonight." I suggest softly.

"Probably a good idea. Easier to protect the kids that way." Snow agrees.

We both look to the living room where Dajh is playing with his chocobo. Hope is standing over Noel's bassinet, a strange look on his face. Like he's trying to commit my son's face to memory, like he doesn't expect he'll have the chance to see his godson's face for a long, long time.

Snow puts a hand on my shoulder.

"I'll get the boys ready for bed, okay?" he asks.

I nod silently, and pray that this bad feeling is just my imagination playing tricks on me.

* * *

 


	25. The Looming Darkness, Hope's POV

_I felt really uneasy when Lightning told me she wouldn't be back from Eden until the next day. It wasn't because I thought she was wrong - I didn't think dad would try anything either, not since lawyers were already involved. But... there's just something... oddly familiar about all of this. Like I've been here before, stuck in the middle of warring factions that are fighting for my body and soul..._

_It's probably because of these dreams I've been having ever since I saw dad in that theatre. I keep seeing this... this darkness... coming down the hall of the theatre like a giant tidal wave that wants to swallow me whole. Everyone is consumed by it, even dad. I always wake up before it gets to me, but it's still... terrifying. Serah would probably say it's a manifestation of all my worries, and she'd probably be right. But..._

_What if she was wrong?_

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's unusually quiet in the house, even with the five of us sharing a room. I stare up at the dark ceiling above us, Dajh on my right and Snow to my left. In the old days, when Snow and Serah still lived with us, it seemed like Snow snored loudly and constantly through the night. Now his breathing is almost as quiet as Serah's and I... I can't sleep. I'm... not nervous, really. I just want Lightning to be home already, I want things to go back to the way they were before I ran into my dad at that theatre. I wish I could go back in time and convince myself not to go with Yuj and Maqui that night, just to keep it from happening. I wish it was that simple, but it's not.

Frustrated, I carefully slide out from between Dajh and Snow, and tip-toe towards the door. I open it and it creaks slightly, but not even Dajh - the lightest sleeper I've ever met - so much as stirs. I slip out into the hall and shut the door behind me, then make my way quietly down stairs.

According to the clock in the the living room, it's half past one in the morning. Snow had told me to put Dajh to bed at eight last night, and then Serah insisted I go to bed at ten. I was still awake when they brought Noel in and settled down beside me at eleven. Just thinking about it makes me feel exhausted, but I can't ignore this feeling that something is _off_ somewhere.

I walk into the kitchen and fill a glass with water that I quickly gulp down. I'm not really hungry, but I think about trying to find something to snack on when I see a shadow move out of the corner of my eye.

At first, I think that Snow or Serah must've woken up when I came downstairs. My heart is pounding painfully in my chest, my throat suddenly tight with fear. I turn my head to try to see if I can make out the shape of the person standing in the shadows before I flip the switch to turn on the kitchen light. There's no one there - it must've been a trick of my imagination.

I sigh in relief, then open the refridgerator door to browse through the leftovers for anything that sounds good.

That's when someone grabs me from behind. A hand clamps over my mouth, even as my arms are pinned to my sides. I try to struggle, but the person holding me is pretty strong. 

I'm dragged from the house and out onto the porch. I know that whoever's on guard duty by the ridge isn't going to be looking towards the house, and even if they were, there's not much they can see in the darkness. But I have to make some sort of stand, so I do what Vanille would've done if she'd been in my place: I stomp on my would-be-kidnapper's foot as hard as I can, then bite his hand until he loosens the grip he's got on me.

Then I run. I run toward the ridge to get help from the night guard, but as I get closer, I can see Cecil slumped over at his post. I don't stop to check on him, not knowing if I'm being pursued. I leap over the two-foot high fence and head for the path that will take me towards the winding trails of the Yaschas Massif.

"Come back here you little punk!" I hear the man's voice before a weight hits me from behind and almost topples me over the ledge. Rough hands force me onto my back, and I'm staring up at a masked intruder.

I manage to aim a _fira_ spell at my attacker, but the joy I feel is short-lived. The flames are extinguished almost immediately - he was probably expecting I'd react that way.

"Let me go!" I shout as the man pins my wrists together in one of his large hands so he can bind them together with plastic cords. I'm trying to get away, but the guy is sitting on my thighs - I can't go anywhere. "When my friends figure out what happened -"

"By the time that happens, we'll be long gone and they won't know where to start looking for you." the man replies as he cinches the cords so tight that the plastic digs into my skin. "So shut up and stop squirming before I make you stop, capiche?"

I'm quickly running out of options. I don't have enough leverage to struggle much as the man stands up and drags me with him by the grip he has on my bound wrists. I can't cast another spell without my hands free, and there's no one to hear me if I yell for help. I'm feeling a bit... desperate.

"If my father put you up to this -" I try to reason with my kidnapper, but before I can he backhands me hard enough to knock me off-balance. My vision is swimming as I'm dragged bodily further up the ridge, further away from any possible help. My heart beats so quickly that I think it's going to explode, my whole body feels like it's on fire.

Slowly, I feel pain blossoming in my bones. It starts off as an ebbing ache, and builds until I could swear I was being electrocuted. My kidnapper shoves me away suddenly, and I scoot backwards awkwardly with my hands bound the way that they are. The man opens his mouth to scream, but no sound escapes. I watch in horror as bright gold flashes of light seem to envelope him, flickering in-and-out of existence until my attacker is nothing but a mass of gold light.

Almost instantly, the gold figure erupts with a noise like a thunderclap, and the pain of my body disappears as quckly and unexpectedly as it came.

That's the last thing I remember before unconsciousness takes me.

* * *

 


	26. The Phenomenon, Snow's POV

_Ya know, I was starting to think that things were settling down. I mean, Serah and I got married, we've got a kid and our own place..._

_And sure, it was a little crazy when Bartholomew Estheim showed up out of nowhere, threatening to press charges against the very person who's pretty much raised his son for two years, but then when Rygdea pretty much paid for Lightning's lawyer, I figured it was all in good hands. Of course, there was always the chance that Hope's dad was going to do something crazy, I guess. That's why Serah and I chose to have everyone sleep in the same room when Lightning went to Eden with Sazh to meet with her lawyer and Rygdea. We thought we were being proactive, taking as many precautions as we could._

_But nothing could have prepared us for that night..._

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wake up when a cold draft blows against my back, knowing that Hope must've gotten up a short time ago. I don't think too much of it at first - I mean, who hasn't gotten up in the middle of the night to answer nature's call, ya know?

I try to relax, feeling Serah's breath ghosting across my collar bone as she sleeps peacefully, but I gotta admit, I'm a bit worried. It's probably nothing, but I decide to get up and make my way into the hall without waking anyone.

Light filters through the hallway from downstairs, so I think that maybe Hope got up because he was hungry, or maybe he just couldn't sleep. But I don't hear the sound of the TV that, according to Lightning, Hope usually falls asleep to on the nights when she works patrol. I walk down the stairs and search the room for any sign of Hope.

My heart skips a painful beat when I see both the refridgerator and front doors standing wide open.

"Serah!" I shout and run back to the bedroom. "Serah, wake up!"

"Huh?" Serah asks sleepily. "Snow? What is it, what's wrong?"

"I think someone took Hope." I reply, pulling on my socks and shirt quickly. "I'm gonna go after him. Try waking Gadot and Yuj, tell them to spread out, okay?"

"O-okay!" Serah says. She sits up and pulls on a robe, then cinches it shut at the waist before headind out into the hall with the phone. I kiss her briefly as I head back downstairs - the phone is already ringing on Gadot's end.

My boots are by the door, and I pull them on as quickly as I can before heading out into the night. I can see the lights coming on in Gadot's place - so I won't be searching alone for long, at least.

I head for the guard's station near the ridge first - it's closest to Lightning's house, and if Hope was being attacked, it's a likely place for him to head for.

Cecil is barely conscious when I get to the station - he looks up at me deliriously, weakly trying to point towards the ridge.

I let my eyes search the shadowy rocks, trying to imagine which path Hope would've tried to take if he was running from someone. I don't have to wonder for long, because two bright golden columns seem to shoot up out of the ground: one is coming from a treacherous ledge on the ridge that cuts towards Yaschas Massif. I've never seen a spell behave anything like that before, but I can only imagine that Hope must be there, since he's the only real mage in the village right now other than Serah.

I run in the direction of that column faster than I've run in a long time. I'm almost out of breath by the time I see Hope's head hanging over the ledge above me.

"Hope!" I call out, hoping to get his attention, hoping that whatever's happened that I'm not too late.

Hope doesn't respond, his face doesn't even twitch. And then I realize that the same golden light that I saw as a column from Cecil's guard post has enveloped Hope like an aura.

It's even more difficult than I expect, but I climb up onto the ledge where I see Hope's body sprawled awkwardly. I'm still not sure what the light that surrounds him is, but I carefully drag Hope away from the cliff's edge by his feet. Once I'm sure he's in a safer position, I kneel beside Hope and try to examine him for serious injuries. He doesn't appear to be hurt, but someone took time to bind his wrists together - probably to prevent him from casting spells.

"Wake up, Hope." I say, patting the kid's shoulders to try to rouse him. "C'mon, kid, you're scaring me here."

The golden glow slowly dissipates, like it's being absorbed into Hope's skin. I wonder what it is, but I know that I have to get Hope back to the village somehow. It'd be a whole lot easier if Hope would just wake up, but I can't take the chance that he's got more serious injuries that I can't see. I prop him up into a sitting position, then carefully maneuver his bound arms over my head from behind. When I finally stand up, I have Hope secured against my back, his knees hooked over my forearms. It kinda reminds me of being back in Palumpolum, when I'd carried Hope like this when he was unconscious and I had broken ribs. At least this time, he hadn't tried to kill me first.

It takes longer than I want it to, travelling the ridge with Hope on my back, but by the time my feet hit the sand of New Bodhum's beach, Gadot and Lebreau are standing on either side of Cecil.

"What the hell is that light?" Gadot asks.

I turn slightly to follow his gaze to the second column of light - unlike the column that had been like a beacon for me to find Hope, the second column hasn't faded at all. If anything, its light has grown in intensity.

"I have no idea." I reply honestly. I do know, though, that Lightning won't be happy when she sees it or hears about it - because the light is coming from the area of the Paddra ruins.

* * *

 


	27. The View from Valhalla, Noel's POV

_Yuel, the Keeper of Balance and Mistress of Valhalla, no longer smiles even for me. She sits upon Etro's massive crystal throne, an eternal girl gazing into the crystal mirror as she searches for... something._

_We have become silent companions in this timeless place, Serah, watching time in your world pass. Though you could not see me and could not hear me, know that I was with you - all of you. It's been... torture, sometimes, this ability to see my friends but not interact with them. There were a few times when I wanted to intervene somehow, even knowing that the consequences could be grim, but still, you've all managed to come so far..._

_I miss you, though. All of you, even Snow. It's too quiet here - it reminds me of the dying world I knew as a child and honestly? Sometimes it scares me. The Temple, as you know, is surrounded by the sea of chaos. We feel each death that occurs in your world: those souls travel here, bringing with them the chaos Etro originally endowed them with. The sea rises during those times, and the sky turns dark with the barely-contained maelstrom. I'm forced to watch as Yuel guides these souls towards rebirth - cleansing them of the memories of their past lives before sending them on their way._

_I... I can't do anything here. I watch Yuel as she works, but I'm incapable of performing the rituals necessary to cleanse the souls or lead them back to the realm of the living. I've tried to speak to Yuel, to comfort her as she cries afterwards... but my words are hollow to her. What can I possibly know of her pain, never having had to witness the memories of another person's life as if it were my own? Even watching you through the crystal mirror can't compare - I can sympathize and empathize with the events of your life, but I can never know how you felt during them or why._

_For that, I... I hate myself. Sometimes, I wonder if Yuel doesn't sense that in me. I wonder if she blames herself for my misery, choosing to stay here with her when I could have started over again with all of you. I want to tell her that it's no one's fault, that I wanted to stay because I promised her we'd be together, that I would save her..._

_But I haven't saved her, have I? With each event that passes, each soul she encounters, I watch my Yuel die little-by-little inside. How is this any different than when I watched her die, barely a teenager in my arms due to the curse of inheriting Etro's Eyes?_

_I want to make her happy, Serah, but I..._

_I don't know how._

\----------------------------------------------------------------

I'm laying on the tile by the balcony overlooking the sea of chaos, my eyes closed and my hands clasped over my ribs. I wasn't sleeping: time doesn't move in Valhalla the way that it does in the realm of the living. Sleep... is unnecessary.

" _The Dawn is coming._ " Yuel murmurs suddenly - the first words I've heard her say since Serah and Snow were married.

"The dawn?" I ask, sitting up and casting my gaze towards the balcony. Outside the Temple is as peaceful as it ever gets, which is to say that the sky is gloomy and dark, but not as violent as when a new soul passes through the Gate of Etro. It's part of the price we pay, living as we do with the chaos surrounding us - there are no sunrises, no sunsets here. Not for the first time, I wonder if Yuel is perhaps losing her mind, bearing Etro's burden as she does by herself.

" _As is the storm of Chaos._ " Yuel continues. " _They chase eachother like the dark chases the light, never-ending..._ "

I get to my feet and walk towards Yuel who stares at the massive crystal disk hanging suspended in the air between us. On it's surface, I watch as Hope uses his eidolith to activate a stone door leading to the Shrine of Bhunivelze. Almost simultaneously, Valhalla is filled with a cold wind that echoes in my ears like a demon's gasp for air.

"What is that?" I ask. Instinctively, I reach for my weapons and circle the throne Yuel sits upon slowly, searching the shadowy recesses of the room for signs of ill-intentioned visitors.

" _The Devourer of Souls, the one that waits for his master's revival._ " Yuel says. " _The price of his awakening is high, but necessary to purge the darkness greater than night._ "

I want to shout at Yuel, to snap her out of this trance-like state that she seems to have gone into, but then I see her whole body become rigid with what looks like pain. She opens her mouth as if to scream, her eyes widening in surprise even as tears stream down her cheeks. Then she slumps forward suddenly - I toss my weapons aside and run to catch her before she falls to the floor.

"Yuel!" I say, brushing her cheek with my left hand as I support her body with my right arm. "Yuel, are you okay?"

"It's begun." Yeul sobs softly, staring up at me even as I try to wipe away her tears. She pushes my hand aside, then forces herself into a sitting position. "The first seal is broken."

"The first seal?" I ask.

"Yes." Yuel gets to her feet shakily, and walks unsteadily towards the balcony overlooking the sea. "The Seven Seals of Mwynn, the seven laws that govern the world as we know it. When Etro first interfered with the physical realm - before the paradox timelines came into existance - she unknowingly broke the first seal. The seal that ensures balance between chaos and order."

"It's going to happen again?" I ask.

Yuel stands with her back to me, her hands clenched into fists at her side.

"No. Etro didn't know what she was doing when she broke the seal the first time. She only knew that she was acting against her father's desires, which was all that mattered to her at the time. Left unchecked, the world fell into the chaos and ruin that you and I knew." she says firmly. "I... I know better, I can control the balance from this side of the gate as long as the influx of chaos remains small."

"Is that likely?" I ask gruffly. There are still fal'cie at work in the physical world, although they are primarily Pulse fal'cie that seem uninterested in the affairs of men. It's hard for me to believe that any of them could become a new Barthandelus-like figure, hell-bent on killing millions of innocent people in order to revive Bhunivelze once more.

"I... I'm not certain." Yuel replies. She turns suddenly to face me, her long hair flowing behind her like a curtain of dark silk. "When Etro broke it, it was an accident. But he... he knows what he's doing. He knows how to break them all."

"You mean..." I glance back at the crystal mirror behind me: in it, I can see Snow looking Hope over for injuries. Snow doesn't see the mark - he's looking for blood, not the faint white lines that look more like an old scar - but I do. Bhunivelze's symbol is as clear to me as the waters surrounding New Bodhum, etched eternally on the inside of Hope's right wrist, just barely covered by his glove.

Yuel nods silently, then she rushes forward to hug me around my waist as she sobs into my chest.

"What happens when they're broken, the seven seals?" I ask, rubbing Yuel's back as she cries.

"When the last seal is broken, Bhunivelze will become mortal." Yuel hiccoughs. "If someone destroys him, he will go to the unseen realm beyond this place, where his mother Mwynn resides. But... I don't know what would happen, what his goal is to that effect."

I hold Yuel steady as we look at the crystal mirror: Hope is sleeping obliviously in the physical world, completely unaware that he's being watched from the halls of Valhalla, unaware that - even now - Bhunivelze is using him as a tool in some greater scheme...

Yuel's fingers curl in the fabric of my tunic as she presses tightly against me. I wrap my arms around her frail body and rest my chin on the top of her head, trying to comfort her if I can.

* * *

 


	28. The Stepmother's Secret, Lightning's POV

_I knew something was odd when Snow told me that Rygdea had already hired a lawyer to represent me in the case against Bartholomew Estheim. Why, after all, would Estheim's boss go to such lengths for someone he knew only briefly during a crisis two years before? It wasn't like Rygdea and I were close - I don't think we've ever said more than a handful of words to eachother._

_After speaking with Ronsenburg briefly on the phone, I only became more suspicious. The case, as far as I knew, wasn't complicated at all - even under the circumstances that we met, the both of us being l'cie and our assumption that Bartholomew Estheim was dead, legally I had no right to keep Hope from his father once I knew that Bartholomew was alive and well. Yet Ronsenburg assured me that the extenuating circumstances could be crucial in this particular case, and said he wanted to meet with me in person._

_Honestly, Fang, I thought I was going to be kidnapped and beaten until I caved in to Estheim's demands. That's what I was expecting when I asked Sazh to go with me to Eden._

_I wish I'd been right._

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What the hell is going on here?" Sazh demands loudly. We both stand up, our hands moving to our weapons as we watch Rygdea and Bartholomew Estheim walk through the door of Ronsenburg's office.

Maechen shuts the door behind them, and motions for all of us to sit. Rygdea and Estheim move towards the small sofa that sits against the wall, while Sazh and I reluctantly sit back in the chairs in front of Ronsenburg's desk.

"Forgive Maechen for the deception, Light." Rygdea says with a sad smile. "Didn't know if ya'd've come all this way to hear us out if he'd told ya the truth."

"The truth?" I repeat. I feel off-balance, my eyes focused on Estheim as he fidgets nervously with his glasses in his hands. At least he has the decency to look somewhat ashamed of himself.

"I'm sorry." Estheim says, looking up at me sorrowfully. "It had to look real, I couldn't take the chance that she would suspect me."

"What does that -" Sazh starts to ask, but Maechen interrupts him by clearing his throat loudly.

"If I may." Ronsenburg removes a folder from the stack of papers on the side of his desk and opens it, sliding it across the desk top so that Sazh and I can see its contents.

A picture is clipped to the left side of the folder, along with copies of official documents declaring the woman to be Sylvia Estheim, nee Nix. On the right side of the folder are reports of activities, jobs and associations that the new Mrs. Estheim has had over the years.

"What is this?" I ask, flipping through the reports carefully. There's nothing that really stands out about any of the reports, only a few minor, distant connections with anti-l'cie activities on Cocoon. To me, it looks like a typical report that could've been made on any average law-abiding citizen. I wonder if they're going to try to convince me this way, to see that Sylvia Estheim will be a good step-mother to Hope, so that I'll give up without much fuss. "Am I supposed to be impressed?"

"Do you notice something, anything unusual?" Maechen asks me.

If they think I'm going to cave in so easily, the three of them are gravely mistaken. I gave Hope my word that I would fight for him as best as I can - I'm not going to cave in over something so trivial. I flip through the reports again quickly, then glance back over at the left side of the folder. 

I lift up the copy of Sylvia's marriage certificate to Estheim: beneath it is a copy of her school records - she'd gone to University in Eden and graduated at the top of her class with a degree in ancient languages and archaeology. Before that, Sylvia had been a model student apparently, though apparently she'd gotten into some trouble as a student in Eden's most prestigious junior high. The documents detailing what happened are missing, but that isn't so unusual, either. Most parents of such students pay large sums of money to seal those sorts of records.

I sigh heavily and flip that document over as well, and then I see it - or rather, don't see it.

"There's no birth record." I say softly.

Ronsenburg nods gravely, then looks to Estheim.

"I first met Sylvia Nix after Rygdea asked me to help him rebuild the cities of Cocoon. We were in the initial planning stages for the make-shift government, and Sylvia was a volunteer." Estheim begins. He shakes his head slowly before meeting my gaze. "I... At first, I thought it was fate. Nora was gone, and I thought Hope was sleeping in crystal somewhere on Pulse... it was nice to have someone to talk to, to ease the loneliness and guilt I felt. But..."

"She was good at hiding it at first." Rygdea says, slapping Estheim hard on the shoulder. "It was a real disaster up here back then, we were too busy tryin' ta fix the serious problems like food shortages and getting supplies where they needed ta be. The protests - the anti-l'cie protests - didn't start 'til that crash in New Eden. Everyone was blaming l'cie for the whole thing with Orphan, said if it weren't for you guys that those people wouldn't've died so needlessly. It just grew from there, 'til you couldn't walk ten feet without overhearing someone blaming l'cie for some misery of theirs."

"Around that time, Sylvia told me that her parents had been high-ranking Sanctum officials killed in the Seige of Eden. She said that the l'cie had been responsible for her parents' deaths, that she could never forgive the l'cie for what they'd done to her." Bartholomew frowns and clasps his hands tightly together in his lap. "She thought that my wife and son had been killed during those last few minutes, when Cocoon began to fall towards Pulse. She told me that I should never forgive the l'cie either, and I... I didn't say anything. This woman had stood by me when Rygdea and I had only started to organize the survivors, she had cooked for us, and listened as I spoke of plans for a new Academy, a new government and way of life for the people of Cocoon. She encouraged me to do everything that I could, everything that I desired... I loved her for that, so much that I overlooked the memories of my deceased wife and the son I thought was lost to me forever."

"As for me, I'd been suspicious for a while by then. I mean, Bart here might be smart but Sylvia..." Rygdea trails off as Bartholomew and I glare at him. His implication is valid, though: from her picture, Sylvia is a very beautiful woman, and her background information suggests that she's used to a certain lifestyle. It's unusual to see such a woman take an interest in someone like Bartholomew Estheim who, according to Hope, has a history of forgetting about his family in favor of continuing his research projects. Even with her education and background, I would have expected Sylvia to go after someone more like Rygdea - I mean, why go after the director of a school when Rygdea is an easier, more powerful target?

"Rygdea told me later that he'd had Maechen ask around discretely for all the information he could find on Sylvia. I was... really angry with him for that, for a long time, too." Bartholomew continues. "But then he showed me what they'd found, or rather, what they hadn't found. It didn't make sense - the Sanctum kept excellent documents on all of their members, all of the extended family of their officials... copies of those records were kept in every major city all over Cocoon, and yet we couldn't find one single record to mention Sylvia Nix? It was statistically impossible. We decided to keep a sharper eye on Sylvia, that I would play along with her as if nothing had changed, while Rygdea would have her followed in secret."

"In the months that followed, we discovered very few connections between Sylvia and the organizers of the anti-l'cie protests. Honestly, I was starting to wonder if I'd been too paranoid - that maybe I was wrong about Sylvia. Ol' Bart here must've felt the same, since he went and proposed to her, but it's a good thing he did!" Rygdea chimes in seriously. "When they went out to celebrate, I personally searched Sylvia's apartment. I almost gave up on finding anything at all, but when I went to leave, I noticed this statue in the corner of the living area. How many people do you know that have statues of Lindzei in their homes? I don't know any, and when I looked at the statue, I knew why. In a small compartment hidden near the base, I found this."

Rygdea leans forward and hands a folded piece of paper to me.

I open it slowly, my eyes moving first to the official Sanctum seal in the bottom right corner of the document. It is a birth-record of sorts, but not one I'm familiar with. The mother is listed first: Suzy Nix, age nineteen. She's listed as being unmarried, and a small box below her information states that she was paid handsomely for her services as a surrogate. Beneath the information for the mother is the area where the father's information should be, but all the lines are blank except for the seal of Galenth Dysley.

"Is this a joke?" I ask, handing the document to Sazh. Sazh gasps like he's been burned, then tosses the document on Rosenburg's desk. "Dysley was a fal'cie."

"It's not a joke." Rygdea insists. "We did some diggin' around. There've been hundreds of Primearchs in Cocoon, some men, some women. All of them powerful, and all of them had birth records like Sylvia's where one parent's information was blank 'cept for the seal of the last-reigning Primarch. We have statements from a few Sanctum survivors that Sylvia was officially being groomed as Dysley's replacement prior to the Purge. Those are facts."

"So, let's see if I got this straight." Sazh says, scratching the back of his head with his hand. "Hope's dad married a half-fal'cie woman who wants to exact revenge on the l'cie who killed her father. Mr. Estheim here went along with it all, and threatened to sue Lightning so he could put Hope into a dangerous situation with a dangerous half-human woman who may or may not want to torture and or kill his son who is one of the l'cie responsible for Dysley's death. So... what the hell is it that ya'll are trying to accomplish with this?"

"We don't think Sylvia's after revenge." Bartholomew replies. "If she'd wanted revenge, she had plenty of opportunity to exact that on her own, but she didn't. She seems specifically interested in my son for some reason. We haven't quite figured out why."

Sazh and I exchange a silent glance - if Sylvia is half-fal'cie, it's likely that she, too, remembers the paradox timelines and the events that transpired in Nova Chrysallia. She might possess knowledge that Hope once was the vessel of Bhunivelze, the fal'cie God. Perhaps she thinks she can recall Bhunivelze and ressurect her father if she has access to Hope.

I look down at my watch - it's getting late. I told Serah and Hope that I'd call them after I left Maechen's office to go see Rygdea, but after everything that's happened, I don't think I can risk telling them the truth over the phone. I stand up and run a hand through my hair - what a mess this is all becoming!

"I need to call my sister." I say. "I'll be back in a minute."

"Will you help us, Miss Farron?" Bartholomew asks, standing up and reaching out to grasp my hand.

"For Hope's sake, I will." I say as I pull my arm out of his grasp and walk towards the door. 

I have a bad feeling about this.

* * *

 


	29. The Practice, Serah's POV

_I was so happy when Claire and Sazh came home, Vanille. It was all just... too much._

_We're still not sure what happened, exactly. By the time Snow came back home carrying Hope on his back, Hope was still unconscious and suffering from a dangerously high fever. I didn't know what else to do but try to get his fever down as quickly as possible, so I filled the bathtub with tepid water while Snow struggled to cut this plastic tie that someone had used to cinch Hope's wrists together. Ultimately, Snow ended up having to hold Hope tightly from behind so that I could try to cut the plastic off._

_My hands slipped when Hope struggled in his delirium. I cut him - not deeply, but enough that it bled pretty profusely and made Hope struggle even more against us as we tried to undress him. It was heartbreaking, Vanille, the way Hope begged us to stop, to let him go..._

_I was crying by the time Snow carried Hope over to the tub and slowly lowered him into the water. Hope gasped and tried to climb out of the tub, and Snow and I were soaked in the process of trying to keep Hope still long enough for the water to bring down his internal temperature. When we finally pulled Hope from the tub and started drying him with towels, my little Noel started crying loudly upstairs._

_I left Snow to finish drying Hope off and went upstairs to take care of our son, hoping I could get there before his wailing woke Dajh._

_Needless to say, that was too much to ask. Dajh was already awake by the time I opened the door, and both he and Chocolina were trying to entertain Noel with very little success. When he saw me coming towards him, Dajh asked if he could help take care of the baby. I was so tired, but his words were so sweet... Sazh is lucky to have a son as considerate as Dajh is. I hope my Noel grows up to be like him._

_I put Noel in the bassinet in the livingroom and told Dajh to try to entertain the baby while I mixed formula in a bottle._

_I could hear Snow opening the medicine-cabinet door in the bathroom, and the sound of a plastic lid being popped open. I figured he was going to try to bandage the wound I'd caused on Hope's wrist._

_Then Snow swore, loudly, and Dajh looked over at me with these big, wide eyes like he was afraid that Snow was mad or something._

_I quickly finished mixing Noel's bottle and handed it to Dajh to feed to the baby, then made my way down the hall to the bathroom._

_Hope was sitting, wrapped in several dry towels, on the closed toilet lid with Snow kneeling on the floor in front of him. Snow had Hope's wounded arm in his grasp, turned over so that the cut was exposed to the light. When he saw me standing in the doorway, Snow motioned me over to look at Hope's wrist._

_And that's when I saw it, Vanille. Almost where I'd knicked him, in very faint relief, was the symbol of Bhunivelze._

_I knew that Claire would be upset when she found out that Bhunivelze had marked Hope - but I wasn't sure when the mark had gotten there to begin with. Was it something Hope had had since our world was, essentially, rebooted? Or had he gotten it during the fiasco with the Shrine? It was such a light mark that I wasn't sure if any of us would have noticed it before or after it appeared._

_Hope was too feverish to understand what was going on. He stared at his wrist through half-lidded eyes, but I don't know if he actually saw what he was looking at. I doubt it, though, because when Snow and I went to dress him in his nightclothes, he tried to fight us off like we c'ieth. I was really relieved once we'd put Hope in his own bed and Snow volunteered to take first watch over him._

_Noel had almost finished his bottle by the time I went out to check on our youngest charges. Dajh was practically asleep on his feet, standing on his tip-toes so that he could hold Noel's bottle upright. I felt awful for having left him to take care of Noel while Snow and I struggled with Hope, so I picked Dajh up and carried him over to the sofa. I laid him down and covered him with the afghan Lebreau had made for Claire during her bed-rest when she'd still been pregnant with Nora. I think Dajh was asleep before I finished tucking the blanket around him._

_I guess it felt like I was the mother of three children. I'd been so worried about Hope that I practically forgot Dajh and Noel. I'm just grateful that Dajh seemed to understand that Snow and I needed to take care of Hope, and that Noel had only been hungry and not sick himself. I don't know what we would've done if they'd all been sick at once..._

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I guess that was good practice." Snow says as we walk the path from Claire's house to our own across town.

"Good practice?" I ask, leaning against his arm.

"Yeah." Snow replies. "For when we've got more than one kid."

Noel gurgles slightly in his sleep as if he's protesting Snow's latest idea, and honestly, I don't think it's such a good idea right now either. We've only just left my sister's house - Claire was not in a good mood when she'd come home, and she'd only been more upset when I told her how sick Hope had been this morning. We didn't mention that Hope had been missing this morning and that we weren't entirely sure if it was a burglary gone wrong or a kidnapping attempt, and we also avoided mentioning the mark we'd found on his wrist.

I guess I'm hoping that Claire can have one good night's rest before we tell her about all of that tomorrow.

"I think we've got just what we can handle right now, mister." I say to Snow, standing on my tip-toes to look at our son cradled in his father's arms. "Especially with everything else that's going on."

"Speaking of which..." Snow hands Noel to me carefully, then puts a hand into the inside pocket of his coat to pull out a picture. "I was digging through those boxes Rygdea sent when you were watching Hope. Why didn't you ever tell me that we met at the arcade?"

"Are you feeling okay?" I ask him, reaching up to try to feel his forehead with my hand. "Did you get Hope's fever or something? Because we met on the beach in Bodhum, not the arcade."

"I have proof!" Snow crows. "No one ever believed me when I told 'em, not Gadot, not Lebreau, but here it is!"

Snow holds out the photo for me to see: a picture of a teenaged girl wearing a white-and-pink lace dress in front of Bodhum's arcade, her pink hair pulled into a loose braid that drapes over her left shoulder. I duck my head, but I can't help the giggle that escapes.

"What's so funny?" Snow asks. "D'ya remember now?"

"That's not me, silly!" I laugh. "That's Claire."

"Wha...? No way!" Snow exclaims. He turns the picture in his hand so that he can examine it more closely. "That can't be right. Lightning? In a dress?"

"It's true." I reply. "She always used to dress like that before mom died."

Snow is silent as we continue walking - I can practically hear the wheels turning in his head as he processes this new-found information.

"So... I guess you actually met Claire first, huh?" I say. "But all this time... you thought it was me?"

"I can't believe I didn't see it." Snow groans. "I'm never gonna live this down, am I?"

"Nope!" I grin and shake my head. "Though it'll probably cheer her up and maybe make Hope feel better when I tell them all about it tomorrow."

"I'm hurt!" Snow grabs his chest like he's been hit with an arrow, then looks down at me with wide, puppy-like eyes. "You'd do that to your own husband?"

I'm still smiling as we reach our house and Snow opens the door for me. Once inside, I put Noel down in his bassinet and rummage through the kitchen for something quick to warm up for dinner as Snow sits at the small breakfast table.

"Still... why didn't she just say something?" Snow asks.

I shrug as I dole portions of rice and curry out onto plates to be warmed up. "Claire was always shy when we were growing up, always standing on the outside edges of group gatherings. She probably thought she wasn't important enough to remember, or maybe she forgot about it, too."

"I doubt Lightning forgets much of anything." Snow says. He groans immediately and puts his head in his hands. "Crap! She told me to call her 'Thunder' back then... I'm never gonna live this down."

"It'll be fine. Everyone will get a good laugh out of it, and it will be okay." I reassure him. "Besides, think of it as practice."

"Practice? For what?" Snow asks.

"Yeah." I grin. "For when Noel is old enough to hear all about the silly things we've done."

* * *

 


	30. The Fever, Hope's POV

_I..._

_I must be dreaming, because you aren't supposed to be here. You're supposed to be crystal, helping to keep Cocoon aloft. So..._

_Why are you here in my head, Fang?_

_You and I... we never really spoke much before. You were always concerned with completing our focus and taking care of Vanille. I wasn't that important, not really. Not to you._

_So, why?_

_Why are you looking at me like that? I've only ever seen you look at Vanille like that, usually moments before Vanille would start to cry. You showed that face so often towards the end of our journey, especially when we were in Oerba._

_But that task is over. I'm not a l'cie any more. So why are you looking at me like I'm about to break? I'm not!_

_I want to yell at you to stop - stop looking at me like that - but I can't. My whole body feels like lead, like I can't move._

_There's a rumble like thunder echoing in the dark void around us, and it sends shivers up and down my spine. I know that sound, somehow, and it fills me with dread._

_I want to go home, Fang, I want out of here!_

_Please, let me go..._

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, buddy." Snow murmurs.

I try to open my eyes, but it's really hard to keep them open. I don't have the energy to fight my exhaustion, either, so I let my eyes close again and concentrate on the feeling of Snow wiping my face with a cold, damp cloth.

I guess... I guess I must be sick. How...?

_"You were attacked."_

I try to force myself upright when I hear that voice - the voice that shouldn't be here. Snow puts his hands on my shoulders and pushes me back down, pinning me to the mattress easily.

"It's okay, you're safe. Just relax."

"Fang!" I say hoarsely. "I heard Fang!"

Snow puts his hand across my forehead and makes a tsking sound. I hear him as he shouts for Serah and I try to open my eyes again.

She's standing in the corner of my room, between the bookcase and my desk, with her arms crossed over her chest.

 _"It's no use."_ she mutters. _"They won't be able to see or hear me. This is just between you and me, kid."_

I watch weakly as Serah rushes into the room, impeding my view of Fang momentarily as she tries to gauge my temperature. Her hand is like ice against my skin, so cold it feels like I'm being burned.

 _"It's going to get worse before it gets better."_ Fang shouts over Snow and Serah's concerned discussion. _"You have to go back."_

"Back?" I repeat slowly. "Where?"

"Hope?" Snow's voice sounds really far away, but when I manage to look at him, he seems really close. That's... weird...

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_The Farseers wrote of a place known as Valhalla, the seat from which the Gods can see everything._

_I think... this is the place. It seems right, anyway - there's not really a whole lot here. Just me and the floating piece of rock I'm standing on, surrounded by the infinite stretch of the universe._

_It's so quiet here, and I'm... all alone again._

_"No, not alone." Fang says._

_I whirl around to look for her, but there's no one else here. Just me._

_Then a massive form takes shape just beyond the rock I'm standing on. It towers above me, a shape that seems familiar and dreadful even though I can't... can't quite remember..._

_A large hand swoops down towards me, and I drop down to the ground beneath my feet, instinctively curling over my knees and putting my arms over my head. I'm shaking with fear, just waiting for those claw-like fingers to wrap around me and crush me into oblivion._

_It... doesn't happen. Reluctantly, I peer out from under the shelter of my raised arms and see those fingers frozen around me, hesitating. Slowly, I let my gaze follow the line of the creature's arm up to its hideous face where two bright green eyes seem to glow. The monster - fal'cie or nightmare - is grimacing at me, like... like it's afraid of me._

_It's almost funny, because what could I do to it at all? It's kinda like when Lightning teases Serah for being afraid of spiders, only I'm the spider I guess, and this creature... is definitely not Serah._

_"D-don't hurt me." I murmur as I stand up._

_We face eachother silently for what feels like forever - it feels like I've been here before._

_"You must wake him." the creature says, his voice like thunder in this strange place. The rock I'm standing on trembles beneath me._

_"Wake who?" I ask as I try to keep my balance. "What am I supposed to do?"_

_"Go back!" The creature flaps his numerous wings in irritation, and the rock I'm standing on floats higher until I'm level with his massive green eyes. "Back to where it all began..."_

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Where... it began..." I mumble as I open my eyes.

Fang - or the illusion of her - is sitting on top of my desk, reading through all of my old notes on the ruins of Paddra.

I try to feel my own forehead, to guage whether or not this is all just a massive hallucination, but I'm not sure if I have a fever or not. All I know for sure is that my whole body is sore, and moving just makes it hurt worse.

 _"Have you figured it out yet?"_ Fang asks, not even looking up from the paper she's reading.

"What?" I feel... kind of stupid, talking to someone that I'm almost positive isn't real. I mean, if Fang were really here, Vanille wouldn't be far behind, right?

Fang makes an irritated noise and slams the paper down on my desk before sliding off and walking towards me. As she approaches the bed with that dangerous glint in her eye, I fight the pain in my body and try to move away from her. I end up scooting so far away that I fall out of my bed and land on the floor in a tangled heap of weakened limbs and sweat-soaked sheets.

Snow and Serah run down the hall quickly - I can feel the vibration of their steps through the floor I'm sitting on. Fang doesn't look concerned at all - she just stands there on the other side of my bed, arms crossed over her chest.

 _"You're wasting time. You can't run from your duty forever."_ Fang says. _"And they can't protect you from it, either."_

"I don't know what you're talking about!" I growl in frustration.

Snow and Serah murmur something to eachother - probably about my sanity, I guess. Before I know what's happening, Snow lays me back down in my bed and Serah tucks the sheets around me so tightly that I can barely twitch my fingers.

"How's his fever?" Snow whispers to Serah.

"I think it's spiking again." Serah replies, sighing heavily. "I'll take this turn."

Snow nods and leaves the room as Serah sits on the bed beside me. She places a damp cloth over my forehead and she hums a soft tune under her breath, like she's trying to comfort me.

It's hard to be comforted though, when Fang's still towering over me. I stare up at her trepidatiously, and finally, she shakes her head and turns away from me.

Then she disappears into thin air, like she'd never been there at all.

* * *

 


	31. The Pawn, Lightning's POV

_It's... been a while, hasn't it, Fang?_

_Two years, in fact, to the day... when you and Vanille sacrificed yourselves to save Cocoon. Two years that you've spent sleeping inside that crystal pillar..._

_I remember that peaceful sleep... When I was crystal, I knew nothing of the world around me, cared nothing for the passage of time... The time between becoming crystal and returning to flesh seemed insignificant to me at the time. But Serah says she heard Vanille when she was in the crystal stasis, so perhaps... perhaps you hear us, too. Maybe that's why you seem to plague Hope's fever dreams, the hallucinations that seem to overcome him even now, nearly a week after Snow and Serah told me that Hope was violently ill._

_He's still... very sick. Although Hope's fever seems to have dissipated in the last few days, even simple activities like walking into the living room exhaust him. If he's not any better by tomorrow, I think I'm going to call a physician from New Eden to take a look at him._

_There's something... something really off about all of this._

_Serah and Snow were very reluctant to tell me this, but apparently, someone attacked Hope the night that Sazh and I were in Eden. Hope says a masked intruder tried to kidnap him, and ultimately chased him up towards Yaschas Massif. He doesn't remember what happened to his attacker exactly - all he remembers is seeing this strange column of light._

_The same light that was seen simultaneously near the Paddra ruins._

_That in itself worries me greatly, but when I consider that Sazh and I were miles away, learning of a plot that ultimately puts Hope in danger..._

_Perhaps it's only a coincidence. Maybe I'm reading too much into this._

_But... it does feel like a battle is coming, Fang. I can sense the tension in the air. Even Gadot and Lebreau seem to realize that something is wrong, and Maqui and Yuj have both become regular fixtures at the house - constantly dropping by to check on us. Though... that could be because they're still concerned about Estheim's lawsuit._

_They don't know yet that it's all a sham - part of a ruse to get Sylvia Nix to reveal her plans for Hope. Sazh and I haven't told anyone about that yet, and I don't know if we will. Sylvia has to believe that she's won this battle, and neither Serah nor Snow are very good at hiding their true feelings from anyone. They'd never be able to act convincingly enough if they knew it was all for show._

_Hope... Hope should probably know, eventually. Especially since it's his life that's in danger. But... I don't want to tell him. Not yet. Not while he's still like this..._

* * *

I close my mouth around the piece of fried chicken Serah offers me with her chopsticks and chew it carefully. It's still pretty hot, but the breading is crisp and seasoned well, and the chicken inside is still juicy.

"Where... did you learn... to do that?" I ask between chewing and swallowing.

"Lebreau's been giving me lessons." Serah smiles and pulls more of the bite-sized morsels from the hot oil to drain in the large collander on the counter. "She says I need a larger repetoir of recipes to keep my men happy."

"It smells good." Hope says from his seat at the bar.

"Are you hungry?" Serah asks. "There's more than enough for all of us tonight if you want some now."

"That's... that's okay." Hope mumbles, laying his head down on his crossed arms on the bar. "I'm not... really hungry."

I'm not really surprised - for the past week, Hope's only had thin broth and toast to eat. Fried chicken would probably be too heavy for his stomach to handle just yet.

"Maybe you should rest up for tonight." I suggest as Snow walks into the living room with the blanket for this evening's memorial picnic tucked under one arm. "You look like you're gonna fall asleep any minute now."

Hope grunts, then slowly forces himself to sit upright. He's so tired that he can't seem to even keep his eyes open, and for a brief, heart-stopping moment I think he's going to fall out of his chair.

"Whoa there, buddy." Snow says, steadying Hope with a hand between his shoulders.

"Thanks..." Hope yawns and slowly slides out of his chair to wobble slightly on his feet. He stumbles almost drunkenly towards the sofa, then practically collapses on it.

"He's still out-of-it, huh?" Snow murmurs as he walks into the kitchen to steal a piece of cooling chicken. Serah laughs as I smack Snow on the arm, but it doesn't stop him from stealing two more pieces and shoving them simultaneously in his mouth. Snow chews sparingly, then swallows. "Has he had any more... you know... _episodes_?"

In otherwords: Has Hope had any more hallucinations of Fang.

I shake my head silently. 

"Well, that's good, right? Must've been the fever causing it." Snow nods to himself, then louds out a relieved sigh. "Phew! I was kinda worried there for a while."

I'm not as convinced as Snow is. Perhaps because of my previous experience with the likes of Bhunivelze, or maybe it's simply intuition. But the golden columns of light that were seen on the night someone tried to kidnap Hope, on the night when he became so violently ill, must mean something. I don't know if Sylvia Estheim has anything to do with it - it's possible that she's desperate to enact her plans within a given timeframe, that she's racing an invisible clock.

It's possible, but not for certain.

Then there's the mark on Hope's wrist, the pattern of Bhunivelze. It could be a simple scar, a reminder to the world that Hope was once the blessed and cursed vessel of the fal'cie God himself. Or it could be the proof that Bhunivelze's power lives on within Hope. That the diety is, perhaps, not as far away as we had hoped. Those mysterious lights... lead me to believe that the latter is much more likely, unfortunately. Though the only way to know with any amount of certainty is to investigate the ruins - something that hasn't been done in quite some time.

I should try to contact Aschelle, to see if he'd be willing to gather a small team to assess the dangers the ruins might now possess. Perhaps if Sazh, Snow and I agree to go with the team, Aschelle would agree...

"... still, I hope if Fang and Vanille can see it that they're not too upset that Claire won't be leading the festivities this year." Serah says as she turns off the heat under the pot of oil.

"Nah, they'd understand." Snow reassures her. "Fang said it, what, when we were near Sulyya Springs? That we're all family, that we look out for eachother. They'd be mad if Lightning lead the memorial when Hope's still recovering."

Hope moans softly from where he's laying on the couch, and the three of us turn to face the living room.

I watch as Serah and Snow walk towards the sofa, murmuring to eachother that Hope's asleep, that he's having a nightmare. I watch as Snow and Serah carefully fluff the pillow beneath Hope's head, then drape the afghan over his sleeping form. They walk back towards me in the kitchen, completely oblivious to the spector watching Hope from the chair Snow typically prefers to sit in.

I see her though, and she... seems to sense it, too. Our eyes meet briefly, and I see her lips move to form a word that I can't hear.

Fang disappears slowly from my sight, leaving a faint trail of gold sparkles in the air where I'd seen her. 

"Lightning?" Snow asks, shaking my shoulders slightly.

I close my eyes briefly and shake my head, then open my eyes to look at Snow and Serah's worried gazes.

"Sorry. Thinking." I say.

Neither my sister nor her husband look convinced, but they don't press me further on the subject. I'm grateful for that, almost as grateful as the skill I acquired during my time in the Guardian Corp: the ability to read lips. It'd been as second nature to me as breathing, reading Fang's lips and understanding the single word she'd said.

_Soon._

* * *


	32. The Revelation, Hope's POV

_I'm sorry, mom, that it's been so long since I've talked to you._

_I've been really, really sick for the last two weeks or so. I'm still trying to build my strength back up, and it's a slow progress. Yuj and Maqui have been trying to help me, taking me for short walks from Lightning's house to Serah's and back a few times a day. It really helped a lot: I felt really confident this morning when I left the house on my own to come up here. I'm feeling a little winded, but don't worry. It's a big improvement over where I would've been even just a few days ago. And it feels great to be out of the house without anyone hovering over me for once._

_You'll never believe what happened yesterday. You remember Milton Aschelle, the director of the Paddra excavation team that disbanded about a year ago? Lightning asked him to come back to reexamine the ruins because of this... this light phenomenon that happened the night I got sick. Well, last night he called up and said he would come back, but he wanted a team of soldiers on hand in case anything went awry again, and he wanted a personal assistant to help oversee the collection of data._

_I never imagined that Lightning would volunteer me for that position. I thought I was hearing things when she said that, because you know how much she hates those ruins, mom._

_But I could tell from the look on Snow's face that I'd heard her right. I'm gonna be Director Aschelle's assistant - me! Can you believe it?_

_I don't know what made Lightning change her mind - maybe it's because I was so sick and she was so worried, or maybe she thinks this is the last chance she'll have to do something like this for me. She doesn't talk about the meeting she had with Mr. Ronsenburg, so I'm not sure how that all went. But lately, Lightning's looked pretty distant... maybe it didn't go as well as she thought it would..._

* * *

 

Walking home seems to take longer than it should. The closer I get to the gates of New Bodhum, the more my legs start to feel like lead. It's kind of strange, because my muscles don't hurt, and I don't feel out-of-breath.

Cecil is on guard when I descend the ridge that leads into the village. He waves at me as I approach, and grabs my arm when I'm within reach.

"Whatcha think ya're doin', scarin' ev'rybody like tha'?" Cecil asks. "Mayor's 'bout ta send out patrols for ya."

"I'm sorry. I just... had something I needed to do." I reply. "I'd better go home and calm Lightning down before she does something crazy, huh?"

"Ya do tha'!" Cecil practically shoves me over the gate into the village, and it takes me a moment to recover my balance in the sand.

I wave goodbye to Cecil and trudge towards the house where Lightning and I live. Now that Cecil's told me that Lightning's upset, I'm a little nervous about going home. I didn't think it would bother anyone so much - I'd left a note saying that I felt so much better... It's not like the memorial's really all that far from New Bodhum. Just over the ridge and maybe a few hundred yards into the steppes...

As I approach the porch steps, I flinch at the sound of shouting inside the house.

"Don't you think that this is something you should tell Bartholomew about?" Serah demands loudly. "If all you've just said is true, Hope is dangerous!"

It feels like my heart drops out of my chest. Why... why would Serah think I'm dangerous...? Slowly, I ascend the porch steps and listen carefully as the conversation continues.

"We don't know that for sure, right Lightning?" Snow asks.

"It would make sense, though." Lightning replies slowly. "That light that you saw the night you found him, Snow... it's a holy spell, one that very few fal'cie are even capable of performing. If Hope performed that spell unconsciously, then he's not currently capable of controlling that residual power. That makes him... extremely dangerous."

I'm standing in the doorway, and I feel really... really light-headed. Serah and Lightning are both sitting at the dining table, and Snow is facing the door as he leans against the bar by the kitchen.

"Hope!" Snow's face pales when he realizes what I've overheard, and both Serah and Lightning look startled to see me. They don't look like they were about to send out a patrol to bring me back at all - Cecil must've just assumed they were, because of all the shouting.

"I'm... dangerous?" I ask slowly. "Is that... is that why you've kept me around?"

"It's not like that!" Snow tries to reassure me, stepping towards me and looking towards Lightning. "Lightning, tell him!"

Lightning can't or won't even look at me - and even Serah seems unable to face me.

I... I can't stay here. I turn around and run out of the house, nearly tripping over the porch steps in my haste to get away. Yuj and Maqui are walking down the beach towards me, and they wave at me, calling my name...

I change course and head back to the ridge. I... don't want to see anyone right now. I just need to think.

Cecil tries to stop me, but he's easy to dodge and even easier for me to outrun. I can still hear him cursing me as I continue the ascent into the Yaschas Massif, but I... I don't really care.

Dangerous, huh? How can I be dangerous? I'm not even a l'cie any more, just a former one. How am I any more dangerous than the rest of them?

With a heavy sigh, I climb up one of the smaller rock faces bordering the path of the Ascendant Scarp and sit behind one of the large leafy shrubs so I won't be seen. If Lightning ever decides to come after me, this area will probably be the first place she'll look, but she'll be thinking that I headed for the ruins, not that I'm sitting up here to avoid her and everyone else.

My stomach growls loudly, too. I haven't eaten since I left the house originally this morning, and after all the walking this morning and running just now... I'm starving. But I won't go back. Not just yet. I can survive a little hunger - we did it after the Purge, when we were trying to survive Lake Bresha and the Vile Peaks... I can survive this for a few hours at least.

* * *

 


	33. Storm Rising, Snow's POV

_In the early days of Nova Chrysallia, it was just the three of us against that dying world: Noel, Hope and me._

_We made a promise, to do everything we could to try to save the world. It was a fool's errand, Nora. We didn't have the strength - not physically, not mentally. We were each of us fighting our own internal battles with the chaos that was gradually swallowing everything in existance._

_I know that now, but back then... it was hard to see anything, to feel anything, beyond my own pain and guilt that came with Serah's death._

_I... I drank. A lot back then. Of course, so did Noel, for pretty similar reasons._

_Hope tried his best back then to keep the two of us from killing eachother in our mutually drunken stupors. Wasn't an easy task by any means - that was back before I went to Yusnan, when we were sharing this little two-bedroom hovel of an apartment in Luxerion's Southern district. He did his best to make the apartment a home for all of us - he kept it clean, and he tried to prepare meals when Noel was too incapacitated to cook anything..._

_We survived that way for... I dunno. A century? Maybe two. I lost track somewhere after the first fifty years, when it'd become more than a little obvious that the passage of time meant very little to our physical bodies._

_Each passing decade brought with it a more sinister kind of depression. Just looking at Noel some days made me violently angry - on a few occassions, Hope would come back from buying supplies at the market to find Noel and I in the middle of trading punches. Piece by piece, the few small, homey touches that Hope had made - a vase with a few colorful flowers, a small statue of a mother and child - were destroyed in those fights._

_I always felt guilty afterwards, watching Hope clean up our messes. Sweeping broken bits of glass and ceramic up to deposit in the waste bin, or pressing disinfectant-soaked cloths to either Noel's or my wounds... He never complained about it, though I know it had to have bothered him on some level - that Noel and I couldn't live under the same roof without tearing strips off eachother's hides..._

_One day it just... got to be too much. I couldn't stand it any more, this endless waltz of violence that Noel and I seemed to dance to, the one that always ended with that sad, strained look on Hope's face. So I... I left._

_I didn't leave the city, not at first. I had to constantly be on my guard though, because Hope was persistant in trying to find me. More than once, I watched him talk to the tent bar vendors as he asked around for me. There was always a concerned look on his face when the vendors gave him nothing to go on._

_After a few weeks of that... I left the city of Luxerian and travelled to Yusnan. After I became the 'Patriarch' of the city, I sent scouts to Luxerion to check up on Noel and Hope._

_Guess I figured that maybe without me there, the two of them would be able to figure out a plan to save the world. Instead, I found out that Noel'd pretty much made the same decision I had: he'd left, too, making a nest for himself in the Warren district._

_And Hope? Hope... was alone. Not that his neighbors were complaining - they all told my informants how grateful they were that the 'two rowdy ones' were gone - but they did seem to think that Hope was becoming more reclusive. He rarely left the apartment, and even then, he was never gone for long._

_But then one day... he was gone. My informants told me that the apartment was abandoned, that no one had seen or heard from Hope in days. One woman went so far as to say he probably got in a fight with one of the Zomok that were becoming frequent terrorists in the district and was probably killed._

_I... didn't know what else to believe. How could I have known that Hope had been stolen by Bhunivelze, that he would spend the next century and a half being shaped and remolded into Bhunivelze's living vessel?_

_I guess I still... feel a bit guilty about all of that. Like I'm partially responsible for Hope being made Bhunivelze's vessel. I guess that'd also make me partly to blame for his step-mom wanting to use him in whatever crazy scheme she has in store for him..._

_Maybe that's why I feel this need to find Hope, to explain to him once and for all everything that's going on. Everything that we've kept from him up to this point._

_He has to know, Nora. We can't keep it from him for much longer - not without putting him in greater danger._

_Lightning... reluctantly agreed with me. Serah, though..._

_I think Serah just wants Hope to be a normal kid. She doesn't want him to suffer, knowing all that happened before, all that he was. All that he is._

_I can understand that - I mean, I'm not really happy about having to burst this particular bubble either. But what we want to do and what we should do aren't always the same thing, right?_

* * *

 

It's a little past three in the afternoon, and it's been raining for more than thirty minutes. I've made several loops of the areas where Hope could be hiding: from New Bodhum's gates to Yaschas Massif, through the Ascendant Scarp and now up to the edge of the Paddra ruins. I still haven't seen a single sign of Hope anywhere.

I'm starting to feel a little... well, hopeless.

Maybe... maybe Lightning was right. Maybe I should just go home and wait for Hope to show up when he realizes how hungry and miserable it is to be out here on his own.

I sigh heavily and stare through the rain at the ruins of Paddra in front of me. It's possible that he went down there, too, I guess. But do I really wanna go down there in this weather? 

Thunder crashes loudly overhead - my bones vibrate in resonance with the sound as I watch flashes of lightning illuminate the ruins below. What started as a typical shower of rain is quickly becoming a full-fledged storm. 

I... should probably find shelter and wait it out. I guess that means I'm going to the ruins whether I want to or not.

The rocky path to get down to the ruins looks like a muddy waterfall. I almost slip in my rush to get out of the rain, but I manage somehow to get to the main plaza without falling. I run up the steps to the Seer's Palace, only to stop in my tracks when I come face-to-face with Hope.

He's standing under the arch of a large, sealed off doorway, soaked through and shivering a bit. Guess I should've known he'd be here, huh?

"I..." Hope starts to speak, and I can hear the hesitation, the uncertainty in his voice.

"Some weather, huh?" I ask. I walk towards him slowly, trying not to spook Hope off. He watches me warily, and reluctantly nods in agreement as I come to stand beneath the arch beside him.

We stand in silence for what feels like forever, but is really only minutes. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch as Hope sinks down to the ground to sit. He pulls his legs up to his chest and wraps his arms around them, then stares at the ground.

"Is it... Is it true, Snow?" Hope asks after another rumble of thunder echoes in the mountains surrounding the ruins. "Am I really... dangerous?"

I take in a deep breath. There's so many ways to answer that question, and none of them are really the way I'd imagined this conversation going down.

"It's... more complicated than that." I say, trying to buffer what I'm about to say. "But I guess... in a way... yeah."

Slowly, Hope nods, his brow furrowing slightly as he mulls over my words. 

"That's not why we wanted you around, though. You know that, right?" I ask.

Hope nods, but I can tell from the way he tightens his jaw and his shoulders hunch that he doesn't really believe me. Or maybe he believes that I feel that way, but he's not convinced that the others feel the same as I do. I want to try to convince him - to make him believe what I know to be true - but the ground beneath us shakes unexpectedly, and the carved stone slab that seals the entrance to the Palace suddenly slides open.

"What the hell?" I ask, looking from the dark interior of the palace to Hope's surprised face. "What'd you do?"

"Me?" Hope sounds offended as he gets to his feet. "I didn't do anything!"

We peer cautiously around the doorway to see a long hallway, lit by the light of what appear to be veins of crystal threaded through the walls. Who knows where the hall leads? It could go straight to the audience chamber where the Seeress would have given advice to weary pilgrims, or it might just lead to a dead end. In any case, I know that we should sit here and wait out the storm, we should wait to explore this new-found area when Aschelle's team arrives.

I grab Hope by the wrist as he moves to enter the ruins.

"C'mon, Snow. Please?" Hope asks. He doesn't even try to tug his wrist out of my hand, he just stands there and looks up at me with this really sad expression on his face. "It's not like we can go out in this storm any way, right?"

I should say no. I should remind him what happened the last time he went exploring areas like this on his own. 

I'm older, I should know better. I'm a husband and father, I should try to set a good example.

But Hope knows me better than that, I guess. A small smile breaks out across his face as he realizes that I haven't denied him his request.

I let Hope lead me into the unexplored Palace and wonder just what the hell we're getting into this time.

* * *

 


	34. The Seal of Paddra, Hope's POV

_I hadn't planned on going to the ruins, mom._

_But when it started to rain, I guess I figured it'd be better to find shelter there because I... I wasn't ready to confront Lightning and Serah just yet._

_By the time I reached the ruins and stood beneath the archway over the main Palace door, the weather became steadily worse. I really didn't think anyone would come after me in a storm like that._

_And then Snow came running up the plaza steps, and I was... really surprised, but also really... glad, I guess. Because Snow, I can handle. I don't know what I'd've done if it'd been Lightning or Serah who found me like that._

_No. I know I would've run._

_It's funny, isn't it? Everyone used to get so mad at Vanille when she tried to run from the truth, and now, here I am... doing the same thing. There's no difference between us, not really. I mean, I guess part of Vanille's problem was the guilt she'd felt, forcing Fang to carry the brunt of their shared focus._

_At least... At least Vanille knew what she was running from._

_I... I only know that I'm 'dangerous' somehow._

* * *

 

The lit corridor seems to go on forever, slowly sloping downward and winding around elaborately carved pillars that seem to be decorated with inlays of gold, silver and precious stones. Snow and I are both enthralled, examining the delicate details of carved feathers on the wings of what appears to be a representation of Cocoon on one such pillar. For a time, it lets me forget the reason why I'd run from home in the first place, and how Snow and I came to be here, inside the Seer's Palace.

"You'd think that earthquake would've destroyed all this last year." Snow murmurs, reaching out to touch the tip of the carved feather. The white stone glows briefly under Snow's touch, then quickly fades. "It's like a miracle or something."

"Wonder what kind of stone they used for it?" I add. "I've never heard of anything like it before, have you?"

Snow shakes his head and shrugs, then we both turn to continue the walk down the hallway. The path slowly straightens itself out again, and I can see a glowing door not-too-far ahead.

For a moment, I have this really weird feeling - like I've seen this door before. It's a shocking sensation, one that makes me stop completely in my tracks.

And then I hear it, or rather, _them_. Voices that sound like Fang and Vanille, telling me to hurry.

My feet move of their own accord - propelling me towards the glowing door. Distantly, I can hear Snow shouting my name, and the echo of his footsteps as he chases after me.

I'm running so fast that I'm afraid I'm going to run into the door, but as I get closer, it seems to vanish as though it never existed at all. Momentum carries me forward, but I seem to regain control over my feet again. I lean heavily against the carved bannister of the path I'm standing on, and try to catch my breath.

"The hell was that about?!" Snow demands angrily.

I turn around to explain, but before I can say a word, the stone beneath my feet glows bright green. I barely hear the clicking of some sort of switch before the stone's angle pitches slightly, and I'm sent down what appears to be a long metallic slide that curves and curls around the multitude of other stone pathways in the ruin. I should probably be grateful when the slide comes to a stop at the bottom of a large set of marble steps, but... I'm not.

Mostly because I can hear Snow shouting my name, but he sounds really far away. I look up to try to see where Snow's at, but... all I see is the glowing veins of crystal beneath the stone paths.

"I think I see where you're at!" Snow's voice echoes loudly through the chamber. "Just stay there!"

It's not like I have much choice in the matter - there's no way I could climb up the way I came down. The only option I have is to climb up the flight of steps in front of me, and hope that Snow doesn't get lost trying to find me.

The stairs seem to be never-ending. The muscles in my thighs and calves are burning by the time I reach the top, but at least I can see a carved doorway in the eastern wall of the room. There's also a large, slightly raised platform in front of me, above which a large crystal seems gently float. I've never seen anything like it before, and I can't help but walk towards it.

As I get closer to the crystal, I can't help but feel overwhelmed with awe. It must be at least five times my height, and it's wide enough that it could probably fit all of the Eidolons comfortably. When I get close enough, I reach out and touch one of the flat facets of the crystal with my hand. A bright glow radiates out from where my hand is pressed to the crystal surface, changing the whole appearance of the crystal until it's completely transparent - revealing the massive black monster inside.

I move away from the crystal quickly, tripping down the platform steps. A piercing, inhuman wail echoes in the ruins - I cover my ears with my hands, but the sound is so horrifyingly loud that my whole body feels like it's quaking. And then the crystal encasing the monster shatters, and I find myself face-to-face with an unknown enemy.

It rushes towards me, this creature that looks like a giant imperial dragon. I throw my arms up to defend myself - not that I expect it to do much at all - and then Snow is shouting from the eastern door.

The monster seems to decide that Snow would make a better target than I would - it moves through the air like a snake would through grass before attacking Snow with its whip-like tail. Snow manages to catch the tail mid-strike before the monster can hammer him into the ground like a nail, but I can tell from the set of his teeth that it's tough for Snow to fight the monster's strength.

/ _We are hungry._ /

I hear the insidious, serpentine voice inside my head. For a moment, I think I'm imagining it, that fear is making me sense things that aren't really there. But then the dragon-like monster turns its head to glare at me with its large red eyes, and the voice repeats itself.

/ _We are hungry. Feed us._ /

Then I feel the same sensation of heat that I did when I was almost kidnapped, that night on the ridge outside of New Bodhum. My body sings with pain, and I watch in horror as a golden glow starts to envelope Snow as he struggles against the monster.

I know what that light means, or at least, I think I do. If I'm right, and it's the same light that I saw on that night... Snow is going to...

"No!" I shout, running towards Snow.

I catch him and the monster off-guard: I knock Snow sideways and the dragon lifts it's massive tail to retaliate.

I hear Snow scream my name before the dragon's tail makes impact with the right side of my body, and the pain is so intense... that I lose consciousness.

* * *

 


	35. The Seal of Paddra (cont'd), Snow's POV

_To say I was surprised... would be an understatement, Nora._

_I mean, I honestly didn't think Hope had that kind of strength. I'm not exaggerating: I think he bruised my ribs when he knocked me over._

_It all seemed to happen in slow motion after that. I was in a daze as I watched that big flying snake's tail swing down in Hope's direction. I tried to shout a warning, but it was too late: the monster's tail connected with Hope's body and I stood, helpless, watching as Hope went flying through the air like a child's toy..._

* * *

 

"HOPE!" My shout echoes loudly in the large room, drawing the dragon's attention to me as Hope's body soars through the air.

My heart is hammering painfully as I move on instinct, running as fast as I possibly can to reach the kid before he hits the ground. 

The flying monstrosity whips its scale-covered tail in my direction. I dodge left and throw myself into a roll, getting smoothly to my feet in a move that's become second-nature to me by now.

I keep running towards Hope, and as I get closer, I realize that Hope isn't moving. In fact, he seems to be hovering in mid-air, his body bathed in a bright golden light.

For a moment, it looks like he's just sleeping there - completely oblivious to the danger that we're both in. I wonder if... if he isn't under some strange spell that the monster might've cast.

When Hope opens his eyes, they aren't the familiar blue that I'm used to seeing - instead, they appear to be an eerie shade of green. He moves his arms slowly through the air, drawing his hands up together to form the same, strange prayer-like gesture that Vanille used so often during our journeys together.

And then a sound - like the crashing of symbols - splits the air. The monster - dragon, snake... whatever it is - seems to stop completely. A light erupts from Hope's hands where they're crossed, shooting out to wrap around the monster and draw it slowly towards Hope. As it approaches Hope's body, the monster seems to shrink in size even as it starts to glow bright white.

When the monster and it's glow are roughly the size of a small chocobo chick, whatever spell Hope seems to have used is broken.

Hope's oddly-colored eyes fall shut, and his body starts to fall through the air once more. I run to close the distance between us and barely manage to catch Hope before he hits the ground. Even as I'm breathing a sigh of relief, my attention is drawn to the small orb that had been the monster: it clatters to the ground as it's light fades away. It looks... like an ordinary crystal.

I walk towards the crystal with Hope cradled in my arms. It looks inocuous enough, but I tap it carefully with my foot just to be on the safe side. Nothing seems to happen, which is a pretty big relief, and Hope is quickly regaining consciousness.

"S-snow?" he murmurs weakly as his eyes flutter open. His eyes, I'm glad to notice, are back to their normal blue color.

"Save your strength, kiddo. That was a pretty tough battle." I say.

It's obvious to me that Hope is struggling to stay awake - I almost wish he'd stop fighting it, so I can focus on getting us the hell out of this place.

"The crystal..." Hope's voice is barely more than a whisper.

"Okay, okay. I'll get your crystal, kid." I reply gently. "Just relax, okay? Let me handle this."

I don't know if Hope hears my reassurance - I'm pretty sure he's unconscious again. Not that it matters much, I guess - I kneel carefully so that I can pick up the crystal with my left hand and pocket it before sliding my left arm back beneath Hope's knees and scooping him back up into the air.

It's when I begin walking towards the eastern door that a blood-curdling wail splits the air. I don't know what caused the noise, and I know that I don't want to stick around to find out. I tighten my grasp on Hope's limp body and race up the stairs. The wailing sound... doesn't stop. If anything, the closer we get to surface-level, the noise gets louder and more terrifying. What's worse is... I swear that I can hear other voices mingled in with that miserable moaning. Voices that are painfully familiar, but can't possibly be here.

"Snow!"

For a moment, I think that Hope has regaining consciousness and is yelling at me to move faster, but then... I realize that even though I know this voice, it isn't Hope's.

I feel my face drain of blood as I to the path ahead, where Hope had stood briefly before an unsuspected trap carried him into the heart of the ruins. Standing in the doorway that leads to the corridor is the last person I'd expect to see anywhere in this world. I have to be imagining this, because it's not possible.

But... It looks and sounds... just like him. Exactly like Noel Kreiss, right down to the way he scowls at me as I quickly approach him.

This has gotta be... some hell of an illusion. A spell, a trick... something like that. Because there's no way that Noel could - or would - be here, not when Yeul is in Valhalla.

I don't have time to wonder whether or not my mind is playing tricks on me. As soon as I round the corner and pass the stone arch, Hope lets out a cry of pain - the only warning I have before an explosion erupts from the room behind us.

"Keep running!" Noel's doppleganger shouts unhelpfully.

I barely contain a sarcastic retort - proof that I've spent way too much time around Lightning over the last few years - as I follow Noel through the winding passageway. 

We pass the carved pillars, one-by-one: each pillar glows painfully bright as we approach, and though I don't look back as we pass them... I hear the sound of ancient stone crumbling behind us.

It feels like forever, but eventually I run through the large stone doorway that leads out into the plaza.

"Hurry up!" Noel growls, dashing across the plaza towards the slope that leads up into the Pass of Paddra.

It's easy for him to say: figments of my imagination are probably immune to the rain that is still - impossibly - pouring down. Following Noel in this kind of weather and carrying Hope is almost an impossible task. I end up slinging Hope over my shoulder as I try to ascend the slope - and even then, it's hard to get a good enough grip on anything to overcome the mud-covered hill.

When my left ankle rolls beneath me, I lose one of the precious handholds I have. It threatens to send both Hope and me falling back into the area of the ruins, but then Noel is there, grabbing my arm and using all of his strength to help pull us up to safety just in time for me to watch the ruins of Paddra - from the smallest fragment of tile to the largest standing pillar - vanish entirely from the surface of Pulse.

* * *

 


	36. The Guardian of Hope, Noel's POV

_I'd forgotten how large Pulse is, Yeul._

_How is that even possible? I'd devoted so much of my time during those adventures with Serah just commiting the sounds and sensations of wonderfully lively worlds to memory. I was convinced that, even if we failed... even if we could never fix the timeline and I would be forced to breathe my last breath on this world alone... that I would never forget the way it could have been. The way it had been. The way it is now._

_But the feeling of rain falling down on me, soaking through my hair and clothes, seems like such a new experience. I'd forgotten this: the way that even the late spring and early summer rains can bring a rash of goosepimples along the length of my arms and legs. I want to laugh with joy at having found these simple pleasures, pleasures that I didn't realize that I'd been missing. But the joy is a double-edged sword, cutting me deeply when I think of you alone in Valhalla._

_Was this... really necessary, sending me here? I can't help but think... if you had the power to send me here, couldn't you have just... I dunno, sent a message to Lightning, or Serah? I'm sure either of them would've been happy to play this part, or at the very least could've convinced Snow to do it instead. So... why me?_

_I'm sure you had your reasons, Yeul. I just wish I knew what they were, I guess. Did I make you unhappy? Was I... just a painful reminder of everything we left behind?_

_When I finish the task you've set before me... will you tell me your reasons then?_

* * *

 

Snow is panting quietly, sitting awkwardly on the top of the muddy slope that looks out over the area where the Paddra ruins used to be. He takes a few slower, deeper breaths and shakes his head before turning his gaze toward me.

"You're... really you." Snow says a bit breathlessly. He shakes his head, brow furrowing in confusion as I walk towards him to ease Hope's body from Snow's shoulder. "How...? Why...?"

I ignore Snow as I look Hope over for injuries. He seems, for the most part, unharmed. Some might call that a miracle, I guess. 

I... unfortunately, I know better, but... for the moment at least, Hope seems to be simply sleeping as his body tries to produce a level of mana equivalent to what was used in transfiguring the Devourer into it's crystalized Seal form.

"Is he okay?" Snow asks, carefully rearranging his legs to stand. Just as he puts his weight on his left leg, though, Snow hisses in pain and reaches out to lean heavily against a nearby boulder. "Damnit!"

I shake my head, sending beads of rain flying from my wet hair. I know that I can carry Hope on my back - he's considerably smaller and lighter than the last time I'd had to do so, back when he was under threat of being assassinated. What I can't do, though, is both carry Hope and act as a crutch for Snow - not without putting us at serious risk of being attacked by whatever monsters are lurking in the passes.

"It's okay." Snow reassures me, smiling thinly as I try to decide what to do. "I can walk, just gotta take it... a little slower than usual, that's all."

Snow moves away from the boulder slowly, limping slightly to keep as much weight off his injured leg as possible. It's not an ideal situation: if Snow's got broken bones, walking on that leg - even just to limp - is to risk making the injury worse. But it's really the only option that we have, so I guess... I'll just have to accept it, and hope that we don't run into too many monsters.

The trek through the the Pass is as difficult as it is slow. There isn't any real cover to be had from the rain, and the grass beneath our feet is slick. The only good news about travelling in this awful weather is that the monsters seem to like it about as much as we do. Still, I'm more than a little relieved when we reach the bottom of the all-too-familiar path that leads to New Bodhum.

"Cecil!" Snow calls out to the guard on duty as we approach the village gate.

"Are you _cra_ -zy, Villiers?" Cecil shouts. "Whatcha doin' out in this here weather?! Ain't got the good sense ta get outta the rain, I tell ya!"

"Yeah, yeah." Snow waves off Cecil's concerned blustering with his hand. "Won't be making that mistake again."

"Like hell you won't." Cecil retorts skeptically. The man raises an eyebrow at me when he realizes that I'm carrying Hope on my back. "Don't remember this fella comin' 'round be- _fore_. Who're you?"

"Noel. Noel Kreiss." I reply, making a show of hefting Hope higher up on my back and exaggerating a wince to garner sympathy from the suspicious guard. "Is it okay for us to go in now? Hope here's getting kinda heavy, and Snow hurt his leg when we were in the pass..."

"Dammit, man, why didn't ya say so be- _fore_?" Cecil growls and punches Snow hard in the arm. "Go on, get outta here!"

Snow rubs his arm ruefully as we cross over the gate and make our way slowly across the sand. I can tell from the set of his jaw that his leg is really starting to bother him, too - his limp is becoming a lot more pronounced as we make our way up to Lightning's house. We're almost to the porch steps when Snow's injured leg gives out and he falls to the wet sand. I offer him a hand up, but Snow shakes his head. I watch as he forces himself to stand, grimacing in pain as he stumbles towards the porch railing.

I'm really amazed at the strength of Snow's stubbornness - he forces himself up each painful step without making a sound, then staggers towards the door. The handle turns underneath his hand, the door swings inward, and Snow pitches forward into house.

I hear the scraping of chairs as Serah and Lightning move to help Snow - they don't even realize that I'm standing in the doorway.

"Damnit, Villiers!" Lightning swears loudly as she and Serah work together to get Snow off the floor and resting on the nearby sofa. "I told you to wait. This is what you get for not listening!"

"H-hey, don't be like that, sis." Snow says with a weak smile as Serah props a few pillows behind his back. "I mean, look who I brought with me."

Lightning looks furious, but she follows the line of Snow's finger to where it's aimed: at me. When Serah sees me, her face crumples and tears start to flow down her cheeks. 

"Noel!" Serah exclaims - it's a happy sound, I think.

"Hope!" Lightning, true to her nickname, is almost instantly by my side to take the burden of Hope's weight from my back. 

Hope groans weakly, his body sagging heavily against Lightning as she clutches him to her chest like a cherished child. For a moment, Lightning looks almost... vulnerable, completely unguarded. I can see from the look on her face just how worried she'd been about Hope, I can read the guilt and self-recrimination etched in the thin line of her mouth.

"Not that I'm not happy for everyone," Snow says suddenly, waving a hand in the air as he grimaces with pain, "but could I get some help here?"

Serah exclaims apologies at her husband as she runs to fetch the first aid kit, while Lightning half-carries, half-drags Hope down the same hall. I move towards the sofa that Snow's resting on and carefully remove the shoe on his left foot.

Snow hisses as the boot comes off, and I drop it to the floor. At least it's easy to roll up the left leg of his pants, so I can examine his leg thoroughly.

I prod the flesh of Snow's foot and ankle carefully, then use my hands to try flexing the foot. Snow sucks in a quick breath through his teeth, but he isn't yelping or passing out, and I don't see or feel any breaks in the bone. It's a good sign: it's probably just a sprain. Nothing that a few weeks of bedrest and a few healing spells won't cure.

As Serah comes back with the first aid kit, I hear the sound of a baby crying upstairs.

"Oh!" Serah exclaims, depositing the kit on the floor beside me. She kisses Snow briefly on the mouth, then pats his shoulder. "I'll be right back, I promise!"

If these first few minutes in New Bodhum are anything to go by, I have a feeling that my time spent on Gran Pulse is going to be lively.

* * *

 


	37. The Realized Dream, Serah's POV

_It feels... like a miracle, Vanille. One that I can't quite believe, even though I've longed for this moment for years._

_Noel - our Noel - is back._

_It all started yesterday, early in the afternoon. Hope had gone off to the memorial stone and I... I'll admit, I was a bit worried. When Snow and I both expressed our concern to Claire, I expected my sister would join us in going after Hope._

_Instead, she... she told Snow and I the truth of the matter with Bartholomew Estheim._

_It was hard to take. I'd been so angry at the man I'd only ever seen once, and to learn that my anger was misplaced... was upsetting. Not nearly as disturbing as learning that Hope's step-mother, Sylvia, is apparently half-fal'cie and out to use Hope for some unknown reason._

_And then Claire told us that she believes Sylvia may remember the world as it was before Bhunivelze remade it as it is now. That Sylvia could also be aware that Hope was once the vessel of Bhunivelze, and that perhaps a latent power resides within him. Everything clicked then: the strange events at Paddra, the night Hope was nearly kidnapped, the mark on his wrist... It all made perfect sense._

_It terrified me at first, Vanille. Not because I was suddenly afraid of Hope, no. I was afraid for him - afraid of the powers he might possess, and yet be unable to control. Bartholomew had to be made aware of his son's abilities, whatever they might be. I was convinced of it._

_Unfortunately, Hope overheard when I... called him dangerous. It wasn't how I meant it, Vanille - I know you understand that, at least. But Hope had been... understandably upset. Snow tried to get Claire and I to explain the context of our conversation to him, but we... couldn't. I don't think Claire was ready to tell Hope just yet, and I..._

_I just had this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach._

_Neither of us were surprised when Snow went after Hope. I think, in a way, we were both glad for that. We stayed behind, discussing quietly what we should do - if we should tell Bartholomew, and if so, when. How._

_Hours later, after a large storm seemed to have settled over the entire area surrounding the Archylte steppes, Claire and I were still talking when the front door opened and Snow collapsed inside._

_I... I was so scared, Vanille. Even as Claire helped me get Snow onto the sofa, I was imagining all of the horrible things that could've happened to my husband. I didn't even realize that Snow hadn't come alone until he pointed towards the door..._

_And there he was. Noel Kreiss, looking just as I remembered him during our adventures with the paradox timeline._

_I was just... so happy to see him, Vanille. I never even thought to ask how he had returned to us, or why._

* * *

 

I'd forgotten how Claire tends to hog the blankets in her sleep. Spending a night sleeping in the same room - the same bed - as my sister is a quick reminder of how much has changed in the last year, not that I've slept much.

The truth is, my mind is too turbulent to rest. I catch snatches of sleep here and there in tantalizing, thirty-minute naps that are littered with nightmarish thoughts. By the time the clock beside Claire's side of the bed reads six, I can't even pretend to go back to sleep. I slide out from the handful of blanket I managed to hold on to through the night and tip-toe out of the room.

After I've shut the door to Claire's room behind me, I look at the door that leads to the room that I shared with Snow - where Noel slept last night. A part of me wants to open that door, to look in on Noel to make sure that I wasn't imagining the whole thing, but I... I should let him sleep.

I make my way past the door, and walk down stairs. Snow is sleeping on the couch where I'd left him last night, his injured leg propped up on some pillows. He's snoring a little in his sleep, but more worrying is the way his chest makes a rattling noise when he coughs. He must've gotten sick spending so much time out in the rain looking for Hope, I guess. I brush the hair away from Snow's forehead and press a kiss there: he's a bit feverish, but it's nothing that I can't handle. It's probably a good thing that Snow can't move around easily, injured the way he is. At least this way, he won't be able to run off when he should be resting.

With a smile, I make my way towards the kitchen and set a pot of water to boil for morning tea when I hear the bathroom door open. At first, I think maybe Hope's up early - he missed lunch and dinner yesterday, so I think he must be hungry - but then Noel walks around the corner.

"Morning, Serah." Noel says with a smile.

"Good morning!" I grin back at him, happy to have proof that it wasn't all a dream. "How'd you sleep?"

"I've been up a while, actually." Noel replies, sitting on one of the barstools and watching as I pull out the containers of loose tea. "Snow was coughing pretty bad around three. I gave him some medicine from the cabinet, so he should be okay for another hour or two."

"Thank you." I say, deciding on oolong for breakfast and placing two heaping teaspoons of the leaves inside the infuser.

"I looked in on Hope, too, but he seems fine." Noel adds. "Though I am curious where that stuffed moogle came from."

I have to cover my mouth with my hand to keep from laughing too loudly and waking up Snow. I pour hot water over my tea to let it steep, then sit beside Noel at the bar.

"That... was a gift from Snow." I explain. "We'd just told Claire and Hope that we were pregnant and moving out, and I think Snow felt guilty for abandoning Hope. He wasn't really... getting along all that well with Claire at the time."

"I see." Noel replies, glancing over his shoulder to where Snow sleeps on the sofa like he's seeing Snow for the first time. Then again, Noel hadn't really ever known Snow before Nova Chrysallia: the brief meetings they'd had during our paradox adventures only showed Snow's recklessness, his need to prove himself as my hero and protector. Snow... doesn't talk much about his life during Nova Chrysallia, but I can tell from the look on Noel's face that whatever experiences they'd had together were probably... not pleasant. "That was... thoughtful of him."

"Yeah." I agree.

Silence stretches between Noel and I as we sit at the bar. I should offer Noel some tea, or at the very least, start brewing coffee for Claire. But there's something comforting about this quiet familiarity, knowing that Noel is sitting beside me and that my family is safe and sleeping in the house around me. I don't want to move, don't want to speak, for fear of breaking this spell - this moment where everything is as it should be.

"Claire's gonna be getting up soon." I murmur, glancing at the clock that now reads half-past six. "I better get breakfast started."

"Let me." Noel puts a hand on my arm and slides out of his seat. "I miss cooking."

It's a nice change of pace, being able to sit and enjoy my morning tea while someone else does the cooking. Noel moves around the kitchen like he's made breakfast here a thousand times before, pulling out pans and a whisk for scrambling eggs before measuring out coffee grinds to start the perkolation process. By the time Noel starts frying up thick strips of gorgonospid bacon, I hear the door of Hope's room open.

My heart beats a little faster as Hope's light tread moves reluctantly towards the kitchen. I know he's probably still upset, maybe even mad at both Claire and I...

Hope is barely around the corner when I jump out of my seat and run to hug him.

"I'm so sorry!" I apologize, squeezing him tightly. "I know it must've hurt you, hearing me say what I did. I can explain, just -"

"It's okay." Hope replies, gently pushing me away. "I... think I understand. It's for the lawsuit, right? To manipulate my dad into letting Lightning take care of me, right?"

"Well... sort of..." I reply, biting my lip nervously. It's... not the entire truth, but if it's something that Hope can understand, something that he can accept... I suppose it's okay for now.

"What smells so good?" Hope asks, glancing over the bar to where Noel stands in the kitchen. When Noel turns around to face us, Hope's eyes widen and his face pales.

"Hey there." Noel says, putting a cup of coffee in front of one of the empty barstools. "You look a lot better than you did last night. Feeling okay?"

Hope takes a step back, then looks from Noel to me.

"Don't you remember last night?" I ask Hope. "Noel came home with you and Snow."

"In his defense, he wasn't exactly conscious when we met." Noel replies helpfully. "Hope you're hungry, though. I might've gone a little overboard."

"Th-thanks but... I'm not hungry." Hope replies before quickly scurrying past me towards the front door. "I'll be at the garage. Bye!"

I find myself staring at the door after Hope leaves, uncertain as to what's just happened. 

It's almost like... like Hope recognized something about Noel. Something that scared him off.

* * *

 


	38. Bhunivelze Emerges, Hope's POV

_When I shoved Snow away from that monster, Fang, I knew it could kill me. I expected oblivion, the absolute darkness of unconsciousness - prayed for it, even, just to be sure that whatever had happened to the man who'd tried to kidnap me wouldn't happen to Snow._

_Instead, I dreamed of a temple whose walls glittered gold. I wandered around that maze-like building for what felt like forever until I reached a room with two titanic thrones carved of crystal. On the smaller of the two thrones hovered the winged creature I'd seen before in my fever-induced dreams._

_When the creature saw me approaching, it praised me. Told me that I... had impressed it somehow._

_I felt so confused, Fang. I didn't know what I'd done that was praise-worthy to a figment of my imagination. But then..._

_It called itself Bhunivelze._

_I was certain then that I was dreaming, that it was a nightmare formed from the subconscious fears of my mind._

_Bhunivelze... sensed that disbelief, I suppose, because the next thing I knew... I was bombarded with flashes of memory: Lightning had gone missing, and the other former l'cie had gone their separate ways. I'd been alone, Fang, burying myself in research in a desperate search for something to bring everyone back. Years passed before I met Serah again, and she'd brought a man with her - a man called Noel._

_I wondered then if that was the Noel Snow had mentioned to me the first time I'd gone to visit the memorial stone. If it wasn't the person Snow and Serah had named their son after. It made... perfect sense, Fang._

_The memories didn't stop there, either. I experienced the pain of being betrayed by a subordinate - one who'd claimed she was a friend, but in the end, had been willing to destroy me and my friends out of fear of disappearing forever. I experienced heart-pounding fear as Noel and I fought off would-be-assassins, and I knew despair in another time, watching Noel cradle Serah's corpse in his arms as the world around us became enveloped by Chaos._

_I... I wouldn't've believed it, but... I saw myself cradling a moogle, Fang, just like the stuffed toy Snow bought me when I found out Serah was pregnant. Lightning and Serah had both been so upset with Snow when he did that... I'd thought it was because they thought I was too old for childish things like that, but if what I was seeing was true..._

_It just explained so much. Why Lightning had been so concerned when Serah was pregnant with Noel, why she hadn't wanted me to go to the ruins... All of it._

_I... couldn't handle it. I didn't want to believe it was real._

_I think... Bhunivelze took pity on me, Fang, because after that..._

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wake up with a cry on my lips, forcing myself upright immediately to take stock of my surroundings.

I... I'm in my room - in my own bed - but I... have no idea how I got here. Did Snow carry me home? It's... it's probable, I guess. It wouldn't be the first time.

It takes me a minute to calm myself enough to get out of bed. I stare at myself in the mirror by my closet to convince myself that I'm still myself and not the twenty-something-year-old I'd seen in my dream. It had to be a nightmare, it couldn't have been real.

Still, I'm reluctant to leave my room. Serah and Lightning could be out there in the living area, and if they are... they're probably mad that I ran, and madder still that I talked Snow into going on a crazy adventure into the ruins. But I... can't hide in here forever.

I make my way slowly down the hall, listening to the sounds of someone making breakfast in the kitchen. It's probably Serah - if Lightning was trying to cook, the smoke alarms would've gone off by now. A sigh escapes my lips - I really don't know if I'm ready to face Serah, not after those weird dreams I had...

Fate doesn't seem to give me a choice, though: I no sooner walk out into the living area when Serah launches herself at me, wrapping her arms around me and hugging me tightly to her chest.

"I'm so sorry!" she says tearfully. "I know it must've hurt you, hearing me say what I did. I can explain, just -”

I feel... really uncomfortable, standing there as Serah hugs me. It reminds me of the girl who'd betrayed me in my dream: Alyssa.

"It's okay." I lie, trying to push Serah away. "I... think I understand. It's for the lawsuit, right? To manipulate my dad into letting Lightning take care of me, right?"

"Well... sort of..." 

I can tell from the look on Serah's face - and the way she bites her lip - that it's not true. That whatever her reason for accusing me of being dangerous lies far beyond simple manipulation of my father.

"What smells so good?" I ask, trying to change the subject. For a moment, I think maybe Serah's taught Snow how to cook, but when I look into the kitchen, there's a dark-haired man standing over the stove.

When he turns to face us, I feel the blood drain from my face because - even though it's impossible, I recognize him. The man from my dream: Noel. 

"Hey there." Noel says with a smile. He sets a cup of coffee in front of an empty stool on the bar, like he expects me to sit there and eat with him and Serah. "You look a lot better than you did last night. Feeling okay?"

My ears are ringing, and it feels like I'm reliving a hundred years in a matter of seconds. Even though it's impossible, a voice in the back of my mind whispers: you know him, you know him, you know him...

I take a step back, feeling completely overwhelmed as I look from Noel to Serah.

"Don't you remember last night?" Serah asks. "Noel came home with you and Snow."

"In his defense, he wasn't exactly conscious when we met." Noel replies, putting a plate beside the coffee he'd set on the bar for me. "Hope you're hungry, though. I might've gone a little overboard."

/Sorry, Hope. We... went a little overboard./ Those words... 

I don't know how I know them, but they make me so...

"Th-thanks but... I'm not hungry." I reply stiffly, pushing my way past Serah and heading for the front door. I step into my boots and barely zip them up before I run to the door. "I'll be at the garage. Bye!"

By the time I reach Lenora's garage, I'm out-of-breath and reeling from shock.

If Noel is real - was real - then my dream was real too, wasn't it? And if that's true, then Bhunivelze...

"Whoa there, buddy!" Yuj shouts, grabbing me by the arm before I stray into the shower of sparks flying from the machine Maqui's trying to weld together. Once we're a safe distance away, Yuj looks me up-and-down, then lets out a low whistle. "Are you okay? You look... like you've seen a ghost."

I open my mouth to lie, to tell Yuj that I'm fine... but I can't say a word.

Yuj... understands. He pats my shoulders and nods as if to himself, then shoots a cock-sure grin at me. "The back room's pretty quiet if you wanna hang out there. If anyone asks, the Maq-ster and I haven't seen you, right?"

"Thanks, Yuj." I murmur as Yuj leads me through the maze-like paths of salvaged mecha parts. When we reach the door to the office, Yuj turns the handle and reveals a small room filled with even more parts and stacks of manuals. There's a little room on a small, worn sofa for me to sit on - and it's relatively quiet, compared to the noisy thoughts in my head.

"Not a problem. Everyone's gotta have space now and then, right?"

I nod and move towards the sofa. Yuj shuts the door on his way back out into the garage, leaving me to my solitude.


	39. The Concern, Lightning's POV

_"From Valhalla, all things are visible."_

_That's what I once told Serah, and I meant every word. When I was a Knight of Etro, I could see the threads linking the past to a multitude of possible futures - I knew the hearts of men. By the time Noel Kreiss fell through Etro's Gate and into the open skies above Valhalla, I knew who he was and his greatest desire: to live in a world with Yeul, freed from her burden of Etro's cursed Eyes._

_It seemed like such a simple solution, Fang: send Noel to Serah, fix the paradoxes. It never occured to me that the paradox effect was largely a result of Yeul's existance. In trying to give Noel the future he desired and honor the promise she'd made to me - that I could return to the world and be with my sister - Etro's efforts only made the Chaos stronger while she... became increasingly weaker._

_Then Noel was forced - no, tricked - into killing Caius Ballad, destroying the eternal Heart of Chaos that had once belonged to Etro herself. Etro... died, and so did Serah, right before the world went to Hell..._

_That... was then. After I defeated Bhunivelze, Noel made the decision to stay with Yeul in Valhalla. Serah was sad, I know, when she learned that she wouldn't see Noel again in this world, but I know she felt happy for him, that Noel could be with the girl he loved. Noel had sacrificed a lot in trying to be with Yeul: he'd risked his life to find the gate that would take him to Valhalla, and he'd travelled endlessly through time to try to solve the paradoxes that would fix the world, knowing that one alteration could erase him entirely from existance._

_So I wonder... why is he here? Why now?_

_I asked Serah about it last night when we went to bed - if he'd mentioned anything in particular as they tended Snow's injury. But Serah... hadn't asked. She'd been too excited to see him, to know that he was there. She hadn't thought about why, or how it might affect the rest of us._

_I... have a feeling that it's something to do with Hope. If Sylvia's interest in Hope is using him to revive her father - Barthandelus - or reawaken Bhunivelze himself, it's probable that Yeul could where these events will lead. Noel... could be Yeul's intermediary - the one who will ensure the path of least destruction._

_It's not a very comforting thought._

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Serah is at the breakfast table when I walk downstairs, my nephew cradled in her arms as he nurses his morning bottle. Noel, my nephew's namesake, sets the coffee pot on the table before returning to the kitchen. As I pass the sofa on my way to the table, Snow waves absently at me as he devours the breakfast on the tray in front of him.

"Good morning!" Serah says cheerfully as I sit beside her.

Noel returns from the kitchen and puts a plate of eggs and bacon in front of me, then sits in the seat opposite me.

"Hn." I reach for one of the empty cups in the center of the table and pour myself coffee. I bring the cup to my lips and breathe in the bittersweet aroma before taking a first sip. It invigorates me, so I take a second, larger swallow of the coffee and feel the tension slowly release from my body.

"I dunno how she drinks that stuff when it's that hot still..." Snow marvels nasally from the sofa. I glance over at him again: Snow is a bit paler than usual, and on the coffee table beside his now-empty tray is a box of tissues and a bottle of medicine.

"Looks like someone should've listened to my advice yesterday." I retort, putting my now empty cup on the table to pour myself a second. "You sound like shit, hero."

"Ouch!" Snow says, clutching his chest where his heart should be. "That hurts, sis!"

"I'm afraid to ask how sick Hope must be." I say, glancing at Serah out of the corner of my eye.

Both Serah and Noel shake their heads at me.

"Hope's fine." Serah replies, setting Noel's empty bottle on the table before she starts to burp him gently. "In fact, he ran off about thirty minutes ago."

I shake my head: on one hand, I'm relieved that Hope's healthy. On the other hand, I'm a little... disappointed, I guess. Somehow, I'd thought that Hope trusted me enough that he would at least talk to me this morning, after having some time to process what he overheard yesterday. Maybe... maybe he needs more time to think everything over. Or maybe...

"He's not mad at us." Serah continues, putting a gentle hand on my arm before returning to pat little Noel on his back. "He thinks we were discussing strategies for the lawsuit."

"That's..." Good? Convenient? I probably shouldn't be so happy that Hope's basically given Serah and I a way out of telling him the truth.

"Yeah, I know." Serah frowns and stares at the baby bottle on the table as I take another sip of my coffee. "I felt so relieved that he wasn't mad at us, I just... couldn't bear to tell him the truth."

"The truth?" Noel asks, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

Serah nods and silently looks to me. I guess... I have no choice.

"About two years ago, when we realized that in remaking the world Bhunivelze had returned us to the time and place just after we'd defeated Orphan, it became obvious that Hope... was the only one of us who couldn't remember anything that happened... beyond. The timelines, Nova Chrysallia... it was as if he'd never experienced any of it. Like he'd been given a second chance at life, a chance to experience a real family." I sigh heavily, wrapping both of my hands around the hot mug of coffee. "In a way, it was like a second chance for me, too. It was a way for me to make up for the mistakes I'd made when I tried to raise Serah on my own..."

"Claire..." Serah murmurs, and I know she's looking at me with those big, sad eyes... I know she understands what I mean, though - I could've been a better sister to her back then, I could've been more attentive. And even if Serah doesn't resent me for it - even if she understands why I couldn't, or didn't - someone has to hold me accountable for my past mistakes. It's not going to be her.

"It's not like Lightning's the only one who felt like it was a second chance." Snow says seriously. "I mean, I felt really bad during the hunt to fix the paradoxes, especially when Serah told me that we'd all pretty much left Hope alone. And then during the Nova Chrysallia years..."

"Hope was abandoned again." Noel finishes softly.

The four of us fall silent - the only noise is the sound of baby Noel cooing in Serah's arms.

"It's possible that Hope was just... incapable of dealing with all those painful memories, or maybe he was damaged somehow by Bhunivelze's power when the world was remade. Whatever the case..." I look up from my coffee to lock gazes with Noel. "I'm not sure that telling him would actually do Hope any good. He might just think we've all gone crazy, or..."

Or Hope might hurt himself, thinking that he's tainted somehow. I can't help but remember his reaction when we were first made l'cie - Hope had been... so distraught. I don't think I could live with myself, knowing that I caused him that kind of distress again...

"I see." Noel murmurs. "So... Hope doesn't remember or realize that he was once the host for the world's creator."

Noel's gaze seems to go through me, like he's connecting several lines of thought in his head. Not for the first time, I wonder what his purpose is here, exactly. There's no way that this is all some happy coincidence.

"To make the situation more complicated, Hope's father, Bartholomew Estheim, married a woman that he and President Rygdea believe has fal'cie ties. She appears to have a specific interest in Hope, though no one's sure why." I continue. "It could be the normal interest of a step-mother to a step-child that she's never met, or she might know who - and what - Hope was."

"And if she knows that Hope was connected to Bhunivelze, she might have plans to use him for... what, exactly?"

I shake my head and shrug my shoulders. "Who knows. Maybe she plans to revive Barthandelus - the fal'cie that Rygdea and Estheim believe to be the woman's sire. Or maybe she wants to wake Bhunivelze up to remake the world so that only fal'cie inhabit it. In any case, Hope is in danger."

Noel seems to pale slightly, and he stands up quickly, bracing himself on the top of the table.

"Noel?" Serah asks, worry coloring her voice. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Noel replies gruffly. "Just... a little worried about Hope, that's all. If what Lightning said is true, then Hope... probably shouldn't go off on his own."

"That's true." Serah agrees.

"It's not like Serah can follow Hope wherever he goes, though." I growl. "She's got a child to take care of, and with Snow injured, it's not like he's able to shadow Hope, either."

"Which is why I was going to say... I should do it." Noel says. "It might make him more comfortable too, and less likely to try to ditch me, since we're about the same age."

I watch as Noel walks to the kitchen to take out a large bento box and begin preparing food to fill it.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"Hope's probably hungry, right? He ran out before he ate anything." Noel doesn't look up from his task, just continues to package bite-sized portions of fruit, vegetables, and onigiri. "I thought maybe Serah could take me over to the garage and formally introduce me to everyone under the pretense of dropping off food."

Personally, I'm not sure it's a tactic that's going to work, but Serah looks like she thinks it's the best idea anyone's ever had.

"That's a wonderful idea!" My sister exclaims. "Claire, you'll watch the baby, won't you?"

"Which one?" I ask, taking my nephew from Serah's arms.

"Ha ha, very funny!" Snow says before being seized by a coughing fit.

I watch as Serah goes to help Noel in the kitchen, the two of them discussing the finer details of their make-shift plan. Part of me hopes that they succeed, because I agree that Hope should probably not be left alone until this matter with Sylvia Estheim is resolved.

A larger part of me, though, isn't certain that Noel is the one Hope should be left with.


	40. The Garage, Noel's POV

_Last night was the first time that I've slept since the world was reborn: my first night walking among the living._

_As I stood in the doorway, watching as Serah and Lightning laid out clean sheets on the mattress in the guest room, I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if you were here, too, Yeul. Given the chance, would you allow yourself to enjoy the thrills of a normal youth? Would you laugh with Serah, cooking dinner together in the kitchen? Would you try to make Lightning smile when her thoughts become troubled?_

_I think you would like living here, Yeul. The houses are simple - much like they were in our world - but the mattresses are comfortable, and food is plentiful. You'd have your choice of futures: you could be a Chocobo trainer, or maybe you'd be like Serah and become a teacher. Me? I'd be happy being what I've always been, what I was born to be: a hunter. But I'd be satisfied, if only I could see you happy again..._

_But... none of that is possible. At least, not now, not with the world in danger the way that you've said it is._

_I dreamed of you, you know. I realize it was more than just a simple dream I had last night, that you were sending me a message from Valhalla - the only way we can communicate now._

_Still... it was nice to see your face again, Yeul._

_It's silly, right? To miss seeing your face when it's been less than a day since I arrived here, and to you, time hasn't passed at all. I guess it's true what they say: you don't really appreciate something until you no longer have it._

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

"And here it is!" Serah exclaims, dashing ahead of me on the beach and turning suddenly to point dramatically at the large building standing just behind her. From the outside, it doesn't look like much, just a rectangular building with a normal entrance door and a large hangar door that's currently closed. The building is situated just below the hill where Snow and Sazh park their respective airships, right next to the building that houses the majority of NORA and Lebreau's cafe."Lenora's Garage: the finest mecha supply and repair shop that New Bodhum has to offer!"

"You mean 'only' mecha supply and repair shop, don't ya, Serah?"

Serah and I turn to see Gadot coming up the beach from the town gate - he must've been on patrol last night. He looks just like I remember him: big muscles, giant goofy grin... I guess some things will never change.

"Gadot!" Serah exclaims, eyes wide with surprise. "Good morning!"

"I heard Snow came back injured last night." Gadot says, coming towards us. When he's about four feet away, he motions to me with a tilt of his chin. "You must be the kid that came back with him and Hope. Noel, right?"

I nod and reluctantly step forward to take the hand Gadot offers me to shake.

"I heard about it from Cecil. Thanks for helping the boss out." Gadot releases my hand, then turns to Serah. "You over here to see Lebreau?"

Serah shakes her head, and I hold up the bento box in my hand.

"Hope ran off before eating." I say. "Serah and I thought we should bring him something to eat."

"I see. Well..." Gadot scratches the back of his head uncertainly. "C'mon, let's see if Maqui and Yuj've seen him yet."

Gadot leads Serah and I to the entrance door of the garage, and frowns when the handle doesn't turn. He grumbles as he removes a set of keys from his vest pocket and unlocks the door, then throws it open wide.

Yuj and Maqui both appear to be... pretty busy. Maqui is comparing a giant engine to a schematic with a deep look of concentration on his face, and Yuj is welding a long length of steel pipe to a contraption whose purpose I can't discern. When they hear the door open, both of them shout angrily, but only Yuj takes the time to actually look towards us.

"What're you knuckleheads doing, keeping the shop locked up?" Gadot growls as Serah and I follow him inside. "Don't you idiots know we were supposed to be open an hour ago?"

"Don't you know we're swamped as it is?" Yuj retorts, jerking his chin slightly.

Gadot looks confused for a moment, then Yuj clears his throat and glares at Maqui.

"Huh? Oh!" Maqui looks up from his schematic. "Yeah, Gadot, I've been trying to fix the trawler's engine for two days and Yuj is stuck trying to fill the order for New Eden on his own. We don't have time to take on more work right now."

"Isn't Hope hanging around here somewhere?" Gadot asks. "Serah and Noel here brought breakfast for him."

Yuj shakes his head emphatically. "Haven't seen him all morning. It's a shame, too, since I could really use his help."

"Or Snow's!" Maqui chimes.

I watch as some sort of understanding dawns on Gadot's face - like Yuj and Maqui have just traded secret information with him.

"But... Hope said he was coming here." Serah says worriedly, looking to Gadot for reassurance. "You... you don't think he ran off again, do you?"

Gadot looks a bit guilty, scratching the back of his head and looking anywhere but Serah's face. "I'm sure he'll show up soon. He might've gone up to the memorial first, right?"

"Yeah... I guess so." Serah agrees reluctantly.

From the way Gadot, Yuj and Maqui are acting, I suspect that Hope's probably somewhere in the building. NORA are trying to protect him, but why? From what?

"If you're really that swamped, I could help." I suggest, looking to Yuj and Maqui for signs of panic.

As I suspect, Yuj shakes his head rapidly at me, and Maqui looks pretty flustered.

"N-no offense, but... I trust Gadot here with a torch more than a stranger." Yuj replies.

"Yeah, it's... nice of you to offer though!" Maqui agrees.

"I don't have to weld or anything." I argue, looking around for any niche where Hope could be hiding. Then I see it, standing half-hidden between two massive piles of scrapped mecha parts: a door to what looks like is the office area. "I could always... straighten up your office, catalogue your invoices. Update your other customers that you're backlogged, and let them know about how long it'll be before you get to their orders."

I don't wait for them to protest, I start to walk towards the office door. Yuj and Maqui shout as they try to get in my way, and then Gadot's hand grabs my arm, halting me mid-step.

"You... you really don't wanna go back there." Gadot says, looking to Yuj for help.

"I don't know." Serah says thoughtfully. "I think it's a great idea. Noel and I can take care of the office while the three of you work on filling orders. You'll never even know we were here."

"You really don't wanna go back there, Serah!" Maqui squeaks. "It's... it's not appropriate for a lady!"

Gadot and Yuj both look over their shoulders to glare at Maqui, who blushes profusely.

"I've seen your girly calendars before, you know." Serah replies. "Or is there some other reason you don't want me going back there?"

"E-err..." Maqui trembles as Serah scrutinizes him, and when she walks towards him slowly with the same powerful, purposeful strides that are more reminiscent of Lightning, he cracks. "H-Hope's back there."

"Maqui!" Yuj growls. He then turns to look at Serah apologetically. "I'm sorry, Serah. It's just... when he came in this morning, Hope seemed really out of it, ya know?"

"I.. understand." Serah replies slowly. She looks... really hurt by the attempted deception.

"Ah shit." Gadot grumbles. He walks towards the office door and yanks it open. "C'mon out, kid. Serah wants to see you."

Reluctantly, Hope stands up from his seat on the sofa and carefully makes his way through the stacks of manuals and paperwork towards the door. He doesn't seem eager to come any closer though, half-hiding as he is behind Gadot.

"We... brought you some food." Serah says as I hand the bento over to Yuj.

"I..." Hope starts, but Serah is already walking out the door. I can tell from the set of her shoulders and the tightening of her jaw that she's really, really angry. Hope... looks pretty upset, too.

"I realize that we don't know eachother." I lie, looking sternly at Hope. "But her husband, Snow? He was injured last night trying to find you. He's got a pretty nasty cold right now, too, from being out in that weather looking for you. Hiding out here, getting your friends to lie for you? Probably not a great way to repay him."

I storm out of the garage then, walking briskly after Serah who's almost back to Lightning's house. I don't know why I'm so mad - maybe it's because Serah doesn't deserve to be lied to. Or maybe it's because I'm so used to the other Hope - the older Hope, the one who'd been eager to take care of everyone else, the one who'd been so responsible, so reliable...

Whatever the case, I don't expect to hear the garage door open.

"Wait!" Hope shouts at me, but I keep walking. If I turn around now, I'll only say something that I'll regret - and maybe Serah and Lightning would regret, too.

I hear Hope's feet as he tries to run over the sandy beach, then feel his hand as it closes on my wrist, tugging me slightly backwards.

"Wait, please!" Hope pleads somewhat breathlessly. 

My breath hitches in my chest, because it's not the first time I've heard Hope sound like that before - so confused, bewildered by the events occuring around him. He'd sounded like that back then, too... when he jumped onto the deck of Sazh's airship in 400 AF, just in time to see me holding Serah's corpse and watch the chaos envelope the world...

I glance down at Hope, realizing for the first time that he's a good fifteen centimeters shorter than I'm used to him being. I have to remind myself that he's only sixteen, not the twenty-something-year-old that I'm used to. Knowing Hope... he probably didn't mean to hurt Serah's feelings, and knowing NORA - even as little as I do - he probably didn't ask for their protection.

"I'm sorry." Hope murmurs. "I just... I-I know you, don't I, Noel?"


	41. The Suspicion, Snow's POV

_Two years ago, I never would've imagined this would happen, Fang._

_Of course, back then I think we were all pretty surprised to see where we ended up when the world was - how did Serah put it? Reset? Reborn? It was something that started with 're'... You know what I mean._

_Anyway, it was a shock to the system, finding ourselves back on the Archylte plain, staring up at the crystal pillar you and Vanille had created to keep Cocoon safe in the sky. I thought that everything else that had happened - you know, the paradoxes, Serah's death, Nova Chrysallia - was a nightmare from when I'd temporarily been made crystal. That false assumption... was probably the happiest five minutes of my life. From that moment until the moment Serah and I hugged, I thought that everything was great: that we'd defeated orphan and we could finally live out the rest of our lives as a normal family._

_But then Serah and Lightning hugged, and when Serah stepped back from her sister, she said the words that shattered my illusion: "You saved us all, Claire. I'm so proud of you!"_

_When Sazh and Dajh also congratulated Lightning, I knew then that it wasn't just a nightmare that I'd had temporarily - it was a physical hell that we'd all endured, one way or another._

_Hope... had been so confused. I could read it in his face, even though he didn't question the exchange aloud. He'd just slowly walked away from the rest of us, looking at the airships descend from Cocoon with refugees. We all knew he was waiting for his father to arrive, hoping that Bartholomew wasn't injured or killed when Eden fell and Ragnarok essentially speared Cocoon like an olive in a martini._

_But then Lightning walked towards Hope, and what he said, Fang... I'll never forget._

_"She's... she's not coming, is she?"_

_I thought he'd been talking about Vanille. I mean, they'd been close in age, and they were pretty good friends during our adventures as l'cie, so it kinda made sense, right? But when Lightning put an arm around Hope's shoulders, he just... broke._

_He cried for his mom, Fang. I don't... I don't think he'd really mourned her until that moment._

_It was heartbreaking for all of us, because while we'd been reunited with our loved ones, Hope... hadn't._

_That night... we made camp away from the refugees on the Archylte Plains. It wasn't really much of a choice - despite the former citizens of Cocoon knowing that we'd helped save them and Cocoon itself, they didn't want to associate with us. They called us names, and some of 'em even threw stones at us. So when the rest of NORA caught up with us, we headed south and spent the night on the stretch of beach that would become New Bodhum._

_It... wasn't a good first night, either - for anyone. Hope had grieved himself into an exhausted sleep almost as soon as we made camp, and while Serah and Lebreau tried to cook fish over the campfire, Serah just... started sobbing unexpectedly._

_Ten minutes passed before she managed to talk about what had upset her so much: the realization that we were still missing our friends, like you and Vanille... and Noel._

_Two years ago, Fang. Two years ago, it seemed impossible that we would ever seen any of you again. But now Noel is here, so does that mean..._

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I know that something's off when Serah comes back to the house by herself, scowling as she throws the door open with more force than necessary. Lightning senses it, too, looking up from the pile of requisition forms that's been growing steadily larger ever since she came back from Eden about two weeks ago.

"Serah?" Lightning asks, slowly standing and approaching Serah. "Are you okay?"

When Serah turns to look at her sister, I see anger on her face - but it vanishes as soon as she and Lightning lock eyes. There's still a tension visible in her shoulders as Serah  buries her face in the palms of her hands and starts to cry.

Lightning looks as bewildered as I feel, and we exchange concerned glances before she wraps Serah in a hug.

"You've been really stressed out lately, haven't you?" Lightning asks softly. "Worrying about Hope and me, and now Snow..."

Serah nods against Lightning's shoulder as her sister rubs her back soothingly.

"Maybe you should take a day off." I suggest thickly from the couch. "Noel can take care of this gimpy old man for a bit, why don't you two take a girl's day?"

"That sounds good, doesn't it Serah?" Lightning asks, giving me a thumbs-up behind Serah's back. She then steps back a little to examine Serah's tear-stained face. Reluctantly, Serah nods and swipes at stray tears with her hands. "Okay, let's do that. Go freshen up a bit and think about what we should do, okay?"

Serah smiles weakly at Lightning and me before heading down the hall to the bathroom.

About twenty minutes later, Serah and Lightning decide to head out to New Eden. They're just about ready to leave when Noel opens the door and ushers Hope inside the house.

"Serah, I -" Hope starts to say, but Serah walks past him without a word - without so much as looking at him.

Instead, my wife turns to Noel. "Claire and I are going out for a few hours. Will you be okay watching Snow and the baby?"

"Uh... y-yeah?" Noel replies uncertainly.

Hope just looks... devastated that Serah won't look at him, won't even listen to him. He looks from Serah to Lightning for help, but Lightning shakes her head, silently advising him to let whatever the issue is between them go for the moment. I really can't blame him when Hope pushes roughly past Lightning and heads for his room, slamming the door so violently that it rattles on its hinges.

Serah flinches at the sound, but then continues to pretend like nothing's wrong. She thanks Noel for his help, then walks over to the sofa to kiss me goodbye.

"We won't be too long, promise!" she reassures me with a smile, but I can see the glint of hurt and guilt behind her eyes.

"Take as long as you need." I reply honestly. I hope that Lightning manages to get whatever it is that's bothering Serah out in the open - I know I'm gonna try my best to get Hope's side of the story while they're gone. "Have a good time, okay?"

Once the Farron sisters are gone, Noel walks into the living area and sinks down in the chair next to my sofa. He lets out a heavy sigh and shakes his head slowly.

"What the hell was that all about?" I ask him.

"Well..." Noel looks a bit uncomfortable, staring at the floor under his feet. "Yuj said that Hope was really upset when he got to the garage this morning, so he and Maqui - and I guess Gadot, too - lied to Serah and I when we got there. They told us that Hope wasn't there, and that they were busy and couldn't chat. And when Serah found out that they'd been lying..."

"I don't get it." I reply. "I mean, Serah's the most understanding person I know. If Yuj said that Hope was upset -"

"You weren't awake this morning before Hope left. He and Serah talked briefly, and he said that he forgave her for what he'd overheard last night." Noel says. "Serah probably thinks he was lying to her when he said he forgave her, that that's why he was upset when he got to the garage."

Something in Noel's voice tells me that he knows more to the story - and since he and Hope came in at the same time, I'd bet money that he does.

"So why was Hope really upset?" I ask.

Noel raises his head to fix me with a serious stare. "Are you... are you guys certain that Hope doesn't remember anything beyond Orphan's defeat?"

"What kind of question is that?" I growl. "Of course we're sure! He used to get really upset when Dajh would talk about any of it, even told Sazh to stop giving him chocolate before bed so he wouldn't have such crazy nightmares!"

"Yeah, well," Noel snorts slightly and shakes his head. "After Serah left the garage and I went after her, Hope caught up to me on the beach. He asked if he knew me - Snow, he mentioned the Bresha Ruins, he remembered fighting together after you told us about the assassination plot!"

"What?" My chest feels suddenly tight, but I can tell from the look on Noel's face that he's telling the truth.

"I... I didn't know what to say." Noel murmurs. "I told him that I only just arrived on Pulse yesterday, and that he must've dreamt about someone who looks a lot like me. I'm... pretty sure he knew I was lying."

"Damnit!" I swear under my breath. 

What does it mean, I wonder? Did seeing Noel jog the part of his memory that he'd buried subconsciously? Is... is Bhunivelze behind this somehow?

This... could be bad. Really bad. It was going to be bad enough to tell Hope that his father's planning to use him as bait to catch his wicked step-mom in the act of being an evil half-fal'cie conspirator, but now... Now it's just gonna be that much worse. Hope's going to realize that we've been essentially lying to him for years - keeping him in the dark about the most painful aspects of his existence.

Will he be able to forgive us, I wonder?


	42. The Advice, Lightning's POV

_Serah and I... don't talk about our parents much, Fang. Serah doesn't even really remember our dad, but I... I do._

_He was a tall man, though not quite as tall as Snow is, and his hair was about the same color as Hope's. I don't think I remember a time when he wasn't smiling or laughing, and he was always teasing someone... By the time I was old enough to be curious about his work, he told me that his job was to be lucky - and that he would never fail as long as he had his girls around. I was too young to understand what he meant, and our mom... I don't know if she ever really knew what our dad for certain. If she did, she never said anything about it. Not even that day..._

_I think... I was five, or maybe six years old, when the knock on the door came. It was... really early in the morning - I remember because Serah's crying woke me up. And then I heard mom sobbing loudly, and unfamiliar voices trying to explain to her what had happened..._

_It wasn't until years later, after I'd joined Bodhum's guardian corp, that I learned the truth about who our father was. He'd been little more than a conartist, hustling unsuspecting tourists for a living until one day... he tried to swindle the wrong person, and ended up with a knife in his back. They'd found his body behind the building that would later become the Golden Chocobo, and that... was the beginning of the end of my childhood._

_The first few years after our dad died were the hardest - or at least, that's what I thought at the time. Our mom had a difficult time finding work until she was finally hired as a cook for one of the local diners, and it was difficult to find someone to watch Serah when I was in school. Sometimes, mom would take Serah with her to the diner - but when her boss threatened to fire her for doing it, I was made to skip school to watch my sister. Soon, I'd spent as many days in school as I'd spent out of it._

_By the time our mom managed to find a regular sitter for Serah and I was able to attend classes regularly... the damage had been done. My classmates avoided me - thinking I was sickly, or perhaps having heard about my father's gruesome demise..._

_I... pretended that it was okay, that I didn't need anyone else, as long as I had Serah and our mom. But inside, Fang? I think I was slowly dying..._

_Somehow though, we survived that way for years. It was a relief when Serah was finally old enough to start school: mom saved a lot of money after that, no longer needing to pay a babysitter. Serah and I grew really close - she always wanted to wear my clothes, or begged me to style her hair like I did... It was like having a friend constantly at my side, and I loved it, loved the attention Serah gave me when I was half of her entire world..._

_But unlike me... Serah was able to attend school regularly those first few years. Her grades were better, she made friends easily, and soon... she was spending nights over at other children's houses, or going to the park to play with her school friends. Suddenly, I was alone again, only catching glimpses of Serah's world during those brief intervals when she was home and telling mom about her day at the dinner table..._

_I felt... like an outsider, sometimes. I remember the night that our mom tried teaching us how to cook. It became readily apparent that I had no real talent for cooking, while Serah - like everything else - seemed to be a natural. I was resigned to my fate, to be the sister whose main household chores consisted of cleaning and shopping for groceries, while Serah became our mother's assistant in the kitchen. The only outlet I had was the arcade, and even then... it was hard to save up the gil to play for any length of time._

_Still, I tried to convince myself that it was okay, that Serah was my sister and I was happy for her good fortune, even if it meant that I was alone._

_And then... our mom got sick._

_There's not much to say about that, Fang. I mean, once I realized how serious it was, that we were going to be orphans sooner rather than later... I knew I had to be the strong one, that I had to be prepared to take care of my sister. And once it happened, when it was just the two of us..._

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Serah holds the cup of coffee between both hands and stares down at the whipped cream that's already starting to melt over the sides. She looks hurt and uncertain, like she doesn't want to say what's bothering her because she's afraid it'll hurt me somehow, too. If, like I suspect, it has something to do with Hope... I guess she might be right.

"How did you do it?" Serah asks, scooping up some of the whipped cream with her finger. She licks the cream from her finger, then turns a serious gaze at me. "How did you put up with me after mom died?"

I sigh heavily and shift uncomfortably in my seat. Of all the conversations I'd imagined having with Serah after leaving the theatre, this... was not one that I prepared for.

"Putting up with you wasn't that difficult." I reply honestly. "It was everything else that was the problem. I had to work to pay our bills, but I still had to try to go to school. There were days - sometimes weeks - when I'd skip class altogether just to pick up extra shifts to buy groceries. Most nights, I couldn't even sleep... I was terrified that the neighbors would report us to child services, that we'd be taken to the orphanage and separated."

Maybe... maybe this is what Serah needs to hear, the struggles that I endured trying to raise her myself. So many things could have been different... If we'd been reported to child services, Serah would've met Snow much earlier in life. Would they still have fallen in love, I wonder? Would Serah still have wanted to explore the Bodhum Vestige, or would she have left it alone, no longer interested in pursuing a career as a teacher?

"I didn't know that." Serah whispers, sipping delicately at her coffee. "It never even occurred to me that something like that could've happened."

"I didn't want you to worry about it back then." I say. "I had to be strong for both of us, so I... did what I needed to do. Made sure that you got the education you deserved and the things you needed to survive - or tried to, anyway. I figured one of us had to achieve our dream, and it was pretty clear early on that the odds weren't really in my favor. The only reason I even joined the Guardian Corp was because they had a decent signing bonus. I was old enough, and I was desperate enough to enlist. Never imagined I'd actually _succeed_ at being a soldier."

"I don't think mom would've imagined it, either. Not her shy little Claire." Serah agrees softly. "It's hard to believe how much has changed since then. How much we've changed."

"It's normal." I reply, watching as Serah's body tenses, and then tears slowly begin to fall from her eyes.

"It doesn't feel normal!" she cries brokenly. "I was never like this before! Hope... Hope used to tell me what what bothering him, or I could read it sometimes in his body language. But now it just feels like I'm... off. All the time."

"Serah." I grab my sister's hands where they rest on the coffee cup and slowly pry them from the warm china to hold them clasped between my own. "I won't pretend to know what's going on with Hope, or what the two of you are... not speaking about. But cut yourself some slack: you only gave birth to your son about a month ago. You're exhausted, and we've all been under enormous amounts of stress the last few weeks, right?"

"Y-yeah." Serah says shakily.

"And look at Hope's side: he'd been dangerously sick almost as long as little Noel's been alive, and he's gotten used to having you and Snow around more often the last few weeks. He's already had to share you with little Noel. Don't you think that he might be worried that big Noel might steal more of your attention?"

"I... I guess so..." Serah agrees reluctantly. "But... why did he feel like he had to run? Why did NORA -"

"Okay, think back to your senior year of high school. If you'd woken up one morning and seen me in the kitchen with a strange man, what would you have done?"

"Committed you?" Serah retorts tearfully. She sniffles and wipes away her tears with her hands. "Seriously, though... you think that too much has changed too fast, that Hope is still trying to adjust to it all. Is that what you're saying?"

"It's not just Hope who's still adjusting." I clarify. "We're all still adjusting, but Hope's still a kid, Serah. It might take him a little longer, so... give him a break on whatever this issue is, okay?"

Serah takes another sip of her coffee then nods. She lets out a long, slow breath and looks out the window we're sitting in front of. Outside, New Eden's sky is shrouded in the darkness of night: we should be heading home soon.

After Serah finishes her coffee, I pay our tab and we head out onto the street to walk back to the airship. The silence between us is familiar but comfortable, a return to the habits we'd learned in childhood. I wonder... I wonder what our parents would think of us, if they could see us now.


	43. Domestication, Hope's POV

_I... I can't seem to get anything right, mom. I'm... sorry._

_It all started with this... crazy dream I had last night. I guess... I shouldn't have let it bother me so much. I should've just shrugged it off, stayed home and ate breakfast with Serah and that guy because now..._

_Now, Serah's really mad at me. I guess she must really, really hate me right now._

_It's not even really my fault, either. Not entirely, anyway. I mean, yeah, it's my fault that I let a dream - that nightmare - distract me so much, but I... I never asked Yuj or Maqui to lie for me. Not like Serah and Noel seem to think._

_Honestly, mom? The only reason I went to the garage in the first place was because... I've spent the last few weeks cooped up in the house, so sick that I could barely move. I needed a change of scenery, and I knew Lightning'd skin me alive if I ran off to Yaschas Massif two days in a row. So I went to Lenora's garage, knowing that NORA would give me space if I needed it..._

_I knew I couldn't stay there forever, that I'd have to go home at some point. I just... didn't expect Serah to come looking for me, and I didn't know that Yuj and Maqui would lie to her... for me._

_If it'd just been Serah, she probably would've gone home after Gadot tried to validate the lie that Yuj and Maquie were perpetrating. But that Noel guy? Apparently... he's a bit more discerning than Serah. Somehow he got Serah to question Maqui, and then Maqui... confessed._

_It was awful, mom. There I was, standing behind Gadot and just... seeing how disappointed Serah was with me. I wanted to apologize - tried to, even - but Serah... was already walking away. And then Noel scolded me, like I'd asked my friends to lie for me in the first place..._

_I followed him - Noel - to confront him. The dream I'd had... was so convincing, the emotions I'd felt during it... were so painfully real._

_But Noel... told me that it was just a dream, a figment of my imagination. He said I should go home and explain everything to Serah, that she'd understand - she'd probably be happy that it was all... just a misunderstanding._

_When we got to the house, I tried to apologize again but Serah... just ignored me. She didn't even look at me._

_I... don't know how to fix this, mom. How can I apologize to someone who won't acknowledge my existance?_

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hours pass after Serah and Lightning leave. I'm still in my room, just laying face-down on my bed as my stomach rumbles loudly. I'd already missed breakfast, and lunch went by without so much as the sound of footsteps tentatively approaching the door.

I know that I shouldn't skip dinner, too, but... I'm afraid to go out into the living room. I know as soon as I do, Snow... will probably yell at me for upsetting Serah. He... probably hates me right now, too.

With a heavy sigh, I crawl towards the edge of my bed and slowly stand up. I have to wait a minute, bracing myself on the nightstand as a wave of dizziness crashes over me, before making my way reluctantly towards the door. Through the wood, I can hear the muffled sounds of Noel and Snow talking while the TV drones on in the background.

As quietly as possible, I open the door of my room. My knees almost buckle as a delicious scent of food wafts over me and my stomach cramps painfully, reminding me just how long it's been since I've eaten. I stumble hunched-over and cie'th-like down the hall, bracing myself against the wall with one hand as I walk.

"Dinner's about ready!" Noel announces to Snow as I approach the living area.

Snow grunts and nods in Noel's direction. 

I bite my lip, not sure what I should say or do. My heart hurts, it's pounding so hard in my chest.

"Hey, kiddo." Snow says suddenly, looking over at me sympathetically. "How're ya feelin'? Hungry, huh?"

Before I can reply, my stomach speaks for me. Loudly.

Noel and Snow smile at me, and the next thing I know, Noel is ushering me into the living room.

I sit down on the floor in front of the coffee table, and Noel pours a cup of tea from the pot that sits on the table. He thrusts it at me, and I take it: an almost earthy scent wafts up from the liquid, a smell that I'd know... anywhere. Pu-erh: my mother's favorite. I sip at the tea slowly, feeling it warm my body from the inside out while Noel goes back into the kitchen.

"Here you go: one bowl of oyakodon." Noel announces, removing a bowl from the serving tray he's balancing on one hand and setting it in front of me. Noel places a second bowl on the table near Snow, and the third bowl is placed on the end of the coffee table for himself. "Smells good, righ', Hope?" Snow asks me, leaning over to grab the bowl Noel had left for him.

"Huh?" I reply, looking first from Snow to Noel before looking down at the bowl of food in front of me. "Y-yeah."

Eating is a chore. Not because Noel's oyakodon isn't good - it's probably the best I've had - but I have to eat slowly. I remember the first time I ate food on Pulse, after almost a day and a half without food: I'd eaten so much so fast that I spent the whole first night sick with fever. That was right... right before I'd almost given up, when Alexander revealed himself to me.

"Well?" Noel asks after finishing his bowl of food. "What's the verdict?"

I'm only about half-way through my dinner, but I swallow the last bite I'd taken and nod. "It's really good."

Noel smiles and pours me another cup of Pu-erh tea, and Snow leans over the edge of the sofa to set his empty bowl on the table.

After I finish eating, I help Noel gather the dirty dishes and take them into the kitchen. Noel washes the dishes and I dry them while Snow makes loud commentary on the show playing on the television.

Noel and I walk into the living room and I make myself comfortable on the floor, sitting with my back propped against the sofa near Snow's feet. Noel seems more content to sprawl on the floor on front of the coffee table where I'd been sitting earlier.

"You better take your medicine, Snow." Noel says, glancing over his shoulder at Snow who sticks out his tongue.

"Yes, mom." Snow retorts, making a show of sighing as he reaches for the cough syrup on the table. He pours the viscous liquid into the accompanying measuring cup, then downs it in one swift motion before grimacing at the taste.

About twenty minutes later, Snow falls asleep and Noel flips through channels on the television until he lands on a news program detailing the rebuilding efforts on Cocoon. It's actually... kind of interesting, even though more than a few clips are of my father making statements for the Academy's efforts to help. I'm kind of lost in my thoughts when I look over and realize that Noel's fallen asleep laying stretched out on the rug.

Of course, that's when baby Noel wakes.

I get to my feet and make my way over to the bassinet to pick the baby up. His diaper isn't wet and at least he doesn't smell, so he's probably hungry. I try to tiptoe around Noel and Snow on my way to the kitchen, holding the baby as carefully as I can while I search the refridgerator for any prepared bottles. My search turns up nothing: I'll have to make a bottle from scratch. I shift baby Noel's weight slightly as I pull out one of the empty bottles from his bag and set it on the counter.

"This'll be our secret, 'kay?" I whisper to Noel conspiratorily, holding my free hand out over the bottle. I close my eyes, feeling the mana reserves innate within me: I channel a portion of that power into summoning water, and use another portion of mana to bring the water up to temperature. I open my eyes and feed the stream of hot water into the bottle, then add two scoops of formula to the bottle. The hardest part comes when I have to screw the top on single-handedly, and I shake the bottle over the kitchen sink to make sure that it's on tight enough. After testing the formula on the inside of my wrist, I feed the bottle to Noel.

Sighing with relief, I carry Noel back out into the living area and sink down in the reclining chair. Carefully, I maneuver the lever so that my feet are propped up and I'm more comfortable as Noel drinks his bottle. Noel's about half-way through his bottle, and I can feel myself getting drowsy, when the door opens.


	44. The Mothers, Serah's POV

_I never really understood the pain of losing a parent, not until I lost you, mom._

_It was devastating that day, walking into your bedroom only to find you were already beyond saving. Inexplicably, I thought of all the horrible things I'd said or done to you over the course of my life to that point - things that I knew I'd never be able to atone for... The realization that you would no longer be there - that you wouldn't see me graduate, or get married, or hold any of my children... it felt like a gaping hole in my chest, right where my heart is._

_I'm sure that Claire was just as upset as I was, though... I was too selfish then to realize it. I never realized how much Claire went through to protect me, to take care of me._

_That makes me a terrible person, doesn't it, mom? To not see what had to have been right in front of me all along..._

_I'm really... kind of jealous of Claire. I don't think I could ever be as strong as she was. Even now, just thinking of you is enough to make me want to cry. But Claire managed to survive the pain and the stigma of being an orphan, she did her best to provide me with what she knew I'd need to succeed in life... And now she's doing it again for Hope's sake..._

_Hope... I think you'd like him, mom. I hope you would, anyway - he's practically Claire's son. He's a good kid, too, most of the time..._

_But he is... just a kid anymore, I guess. Claire's probably right - I'm being too hard on him. It's... it's a long story, mom, and you'd probably agree with Claire that I'm being too sensitive, overreacting. But... it's still hard, no matter how much time passes, to forget the person Hope used to be._

_You see, this world was only remade recently by Bhunivelze, the God of our universe. Before the world was reborn anew - centuries before the Goddess Etro was killed - I went on a journey to find Claire. We'd been... separated, mom, and I met someone who told me how to find her. Our adventures took us through many different times, and along the way, we met Hope._

_Only that Hope... was older, and in a position of great responsibility. He was a good friend, and a great ally to me and sometimes I guess I just... miss him. It seems as time goes on, the Hope that I know now becomes less and less like the Hope I'd known way back then. The old Hope would never have lied to me, or allowed anyone else to lie to me either. He would've at least explained the reason he needed space before running off..._

_But... it's probably not fair to compare a twenty-seven-year-old and a sixteen-year-old, is it? Besides, the events of those times shaped that Hope differently, I suppose. He'd had no real choice but to attend school in Eden and eventually take over as Director of the Academy. Claire's Hope, the sixteen-year-old, has been allowed to live like a normal teenager. I shouldn't be surprised when he acts like one, I suppose, though I can't help but feel a bit disappointed._

_I guess... that's what being an aunt - and being a mother - is all about. You put so much love, so much hope into this rapidly-growing person that you can't even see their humanity until it slaps you in the face. Maybe I expect too much from Hope, having seen what the old Hope had been capable of..._

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

It's late by the time Claire and I reach New Bodhum: the windows of the house are mostly dark, except for the occasional flicker of light downstairs. I wonder if Snow fell asleep with the TV on again...

"Everyone's probably asleep by now." Claire murmurs, bags rustling in her hands as we walk down the beach towards the house. "But at least they didn't burn the house down. That's always a good sign."

I know that she's trying to lighten my mood, but I can't help but feel a little worried. Hope was already upset when we left, and now he's had hours to brood. He... might not want to hear my apology, or if he does... he might not accept it. What will I do then?

If Claire senses any of my trepidation, she doesn't show it. She walks up the porch steps with her typical confidence and manages to turn the doorknob even with her hands full. I follow her reluctantly into the house.

Once inside, I hear the sound of Snow's snoring - louder than usual because of his cold - and whatever show is playing on the TV. Claire sets the bags on the kitchen counters before returning to the living area, and I walk towards the sofa to check on Snow. I nearly trip over Noel, spread out as he is on the floor, but somehow I manage to reach my husband's side. His fever, at least, seems to have passed.

That's... when I see him. Hope, sitting in the recliner, holding the baby in his arms while little Noel nurses a bottle.

Claire - standing between the kitchen and recliner, motions with a terse jerk of her head for me to approach Hope: her way of saying, 'get it over with already.'

I take a deep breath and carefully make my way towards Hope. He looks up at me nervously, like he's afraid that I'll yell at him. Hope's fingers convulse around the bottle in his hand, and his shoulders seem to stiffen defensively. Claire's right: this isn't something that should wait until tomorrow.

"Here." I murmur softly, carefully plucking my son from Hope's arms and taking the bottle from Hope's surprised grasp.

"Wait!" Hope says, a little louder than he probably should since Noel and Snow are sleeping. His hands reach through the air for Noel, and I can hear his voice strain as he says, "Serah, please, let me -"

I hand the baby and the bottle to Claire as she comes towards me, then I grab Hope's wrists and gently pull him from the recliner. He's visibly upset as I pull him past Claire and the baby, leading him down the hall to his room. By the time I force him to sit on the edge of his bed, tears are falling fast and silently down his cheeks.

"Please, Serah!" Hope begs me brokenly. "Don't... don't take Noel from me, too!"

I... can't believe that Hope would think I could do such a thing to him. To anyone. When I took the baby from him, I only wanted to talk somewhere where we wouldn't wake up the others. But Hope is so upset - his whole body seems to be trembling with tension, shoulders shaking as he tries to wipe away the tears falling down his face...

"Oh, Hope, I..." I don't even know how to begin to apologize for upsetting him again. I sink down on the bed beside him and pull him into a hug. My heart breaks a little as Hope cries silently into my shoulder, and I can't help but hug him a little tighter. "I didn't mean that, I'm so sorry."

It takes a few minutes before Hope finally pulls away from me, sniffling and looking a bit embarassed.

"I... I'm really sorry, Serah." Hope murmurs softly, looking up at me sadly. "I... I didn't ask Yuj or Maqui to do... any of that. I just... needed some space."

"I'm sorry, too." I say as I smooth out Hope's hair and smile weakly at him. "I overreacted. Next time, I'll try to listen before storming off, okay?"

Hope nods quietly, then tries - and fails - to suppress a large yawn.

"Come on, you better get some sleep. It's probably been as hard a day for you as for me, right?" I say, tugging down the corner of the bedspread and ushering Hope under the covers.

Once Hope lays down, I pull the blanket over him and sit poised on the edge of the bed, stroking his hair. Slowly, his eyes drift close and his breathing evens out.

By the time I think Hope's sleeping soundly enough that I can leave, I see Claire in the doorway. I walk towards her and slowly shut Hope's door, then follow my sister out towards the kitchen.

"Well?" she asks me.

"I don't think it's one-hundred-per-cent better," I reply honestly. "But I think we'll get there."

Claire nods quietly, then pulls me into a hug. 

Now, I think I understand... everything she must've felt raising me, how she probably felt when I told her that I was a l'cie, that I was marrying Snow...

I cling to my sister, trying to say silently with a hug what my voice won't allow me to say right now through my tears: 'I'm sorry for everything I said and did to you', and 'Thank you for all you did for me.'

When Claire breaks the hug, she holds me at armslength and wipes the tears from my cheeks.

"Better get used to this." she says. "It's only a matter of time before that kid of yours is Hope's age. And being Snow's son..."

"Haha." I reply hoarsely. "I don't even want to think about that day. Right now, I want to enjoy my baby being my baby. I don't want him all grown up just yet."

Claire sighs wistfully, then looks over to the crib where little Noel is sleeping soundly. "Yeah..."


	45. The (Partial) Truth, Lightning's POV

_There are days when I wish you were here, mom. Especially days like today, when I have to put on the mantle of responsibility and tell Hope a difficult truth._

_I think... I waited too long for this moment. How am I supposed to do this? How can I tell Hope that this lawsuit isn't what he thinks it is, that his father isn't the callous, aloof person that Bartholomew portrayed so many weeks ago? Is it even reasonable for me to expect Hope to believe what we suspect of his step-mother, when I can barely believe it myself?_

_Will... Hope ever forgive me, you think, once he learns how long I've kept this information from him? I... don't know if I could, if I were in his place._

_It's kind of funny, too, to think that this is really only the icing on the cake: the truth about this lawsuit pales in comparison to the fact that Hope was once possessed by the fal'cie god known as Bhunivelze, the Maker of the universe. If everything had gone according to that deity's will, I would be in Valhalla now, performing the duties that Yeul oversees, and Hope... Hope would've been lost to the chaos like Etro was when her chaotic heart stopped beating. Hope wasn't supposed to exist when this world was remade, of that I'm almost certain._

\----------------------------------------------------------------

It's a morning that feels like so many others before: normal. Serah and Hope are laughing quietly over something that Kreiss says, and Snow is encouraging Dajh's questions about airships while Sazh feeds the baby his morning bottle. I want to smile, seeing everyone as content as they are, but I can't. Not when I know I'm about to shatter that peace.

"Hope." I say suddenly.

I feel guilty when he turns around in his seat at the bar to face me, and when he realizes that I'm in a serious mood, his smile quickly fades away.

"Yeah?" he asks uncertainly.

"We need to talk. About the court hearing." I say carefully.

Understanding blossoms on Serah's face, and she puts a reassuring hand on Hope's arm.

"That's... not for a few more weeks, right?" Hope asks cautiously. "Unless..."

"The court date hasn't changed." I reply. "But I... need to tell you something important, and I need you to listen to everything I'm about to say, okay?"

Hope's shoulders tense and his face pales, but he nods in reluctant agreement.

"You remember when Sazh and I went to Eden, to meet Mr. Ronsenberg and thank President Rygdea?" I ask. Hope nods silently. "We didn't just see Ronsenberg and Rygdea that day. Your father was there, too."

I hold up my hand to keep Hope from interrupting me.

"Bartholomew and Rygdea told us a lot that day, things that took a long time for me to come to terms with myself. So I know what I'm about to tell you will probably upset you, and maybe confuse you, but I can't keep it from you any more." I take a deep breath to brace myself. "Rygdea and your father believe that Sylvia, your step-mother, is half-fal'cie."

"What?" Hope asks. "You're joking, right? How is that..."

"We saw the birth certificate, kid." Sazh chimes in solemnly. "That woman's father was none other than Dysley, good old Barthandelus himself."

"But..."

"That isn't the most important part, Hope." I say, trying to refocus the conversation. "What really matters is that your father and Rygdea claim that Sylvia's is specifically interested in _you_. According to Maechen Ronsenberg, this hearing should go in our favor - but if Sylvia has half the connections that we suspect she does, it might go the other way. And if that's the case, the ball will be in her court."

"Me?" Hope says incredulously. "What would someone like that want with _me_? I'm not even a l'cie any more."

"We..." I swallow thickly, preparing myself to lie.

"Does it matter?" Noel asks suddenly. "The point is that she's dangerous, and she's a threat to you. You need to be on your guard."

"But that's the point!" Hope retorts. "Even six l'cie had trouble facing Barthandelus! How am I supposed to face even a half-fal'cie on my own when I'm just... just a normal kid?"

I should tell him: Hope, you're not normal. You were touched by Bhunivelze, possessed by him... tainted by his power. The strength of half a dozen l'cie probably resides dormant inside the teenager sitting on the stool in front of me, if only he could harness it...

Before I can gather the courage to say anything, Hope slides from the stool and walks down the hall towards his room. Serah moves as though she wants to follow him, but I hold her back.

"Let me." I say.

I follow the path Hope took to his room and stand in the doorway for a long minute. Hope's stretched out on his back on the bed, holding the stuffed Moogle toy in the air above his head.

"It's not fair." Hope says without looking at me. "Why is it always me? Whose dog did I kill in another life to deserve this?"

"It's a lot to take in, I know." I reply quietly, walking towards the bed. "To be honest, I'm surprised you're taking it so well."

"Nothing surprises me any more." Hope snorts softly and stares at the toy in his hands, a look of quiet contemplation on his face. "I just..."

Hope closes his eyes, and I watch as silent tears trail down his cheeks, falling into his hairline. Slowly, Hope lowers the toy to his chest and rolls onto his side, curling around the stuffed Moogle like a child. "None of it seems real, you know? I feel like it's all just a dream... playing inside my head. Am I even real right now? Is this just a nightmare?"

"Hope..." I walk towards the bed and sit on the edge of it, reaching out to run my fingers through his hair."I already lost one mom to fal'cie schemes. I don't want to lose you, too, Lightning." Hope murmurs. "I think... I think it might kill me."

"You're not gonna lose me, kiddo." I try to reassure him. "I'm a lot stronger than you think. So are you. We just have to be prepared. Keep your eyes forward."

Hope nods and smiles half-heartedly. "And you'll watch the rear, right?"

"Right." I nod.


	46. The Shadow Hunter, Noel's POV

_When I first met Hope, he seemed... so calm, so confident. He exuded experience both in battle and as a respected scientist. But I should've known, from his joy at seeing Serah and the hoarseness of his voice in recounting how his friends had left him one-by-one that Hope was just like me: lonely._

_It seems strange to realize that now, because at the time Hope had been surrounded by subordinates who seemed to worship him. He'd been surrounded by people at the Paddra ruins back then, and later on, there'd been even more people at the Academy. I guess I should've realized it when Alyssa tried to grab onto Hope and he'd pushed her away... that he was afraid of letting people close because... he was afraid of being left alone. Again._

_Sometimes... it's easier to be alone, I guess. That's how it felt to me when we lived in Luxerion._

_I mean, the three of us lived together for a long time, Yeul. Snow and I... we didn't always get along, especially if we were frustrated or drunk which, as years turned into decades and centuries, became increasingly more frequent._

_But back then, the three of us had jobs, of sorts. Snow and I travelled what was left of the world in search of clues to save it, and while we were there, we helped as many people as we could. Hope had still been the Director of what was left of the Academy, and so he usually went to meet with his colleagues to try to figure out a method of his own to save the world from what it had become. Hope didn't have far to travel, so he was usually in bed and asleep by the time Snow and I would return pretty much empty-handed. It got to the point where we rarely saw Hope at all, except for when he was woken up by Snow and me fighting._

_Looking back, it all seems so strange. Physically, Hope had been the oldest of us, but his eyes... I remember watching him bandage my leg after I'd cut it while Snow and I'd fought in the living room. Hope had looked up at me with this look... like he was afraid. Not of me, I don't think, or of Snow, either. But maybe... maybe he'd been scared of what our fighting meant. Maybe he knew what was coming before Snow or I did._

_The funny thing is... after Snow left, I thought it would be easier between Hope and me. That maybe we could go back to how it'd been before, back when I'd been tasked with protecting Hope from would-be-assassins. But Hope... was more concerned with finding Snow than talking about his research with me. When I agreed to help him look for Snow, I had no idea that I'd be leaving... for good._

_But... when I went to the Warren district... I saw it. The oracle drive. The one that showed me killing Lightning, that showed me you._

_Guess that makes me just as guilty as the others. Once I saw that oracle drive, I couldn't leave. I couldn't even bring myself to go back, to explain to Hope what I'd found and why I had to stay, to protect it... I knew telling him would only make him want to see it himself and that... I thought that would've hurt him worse than me simply leaving._

_I should've realized how badly it would hurt Hope, to suddenly be alone again - trapped in that apartment with nothing but memories to keep him company. By the time I'd heard word that he'd disappeared entirely... whatever sorrow I might have felt was miniscule compared to the guilt I felt, having been the root of the world's impending destruction anyway. In a way, I thought it was a blessing: that Hope, at least, was finally freed from that madness where time passed continually and yet nothing changed..._

_I couldn't bring myself to tell Snow back then, even though I knew I should've. I doubted that Snow would've seen me, even if I had gone to tell him, and if he had... I imagined that it would end like many of our other ventures had: with both of us commiserating over a bottle of booze and blaming ourselves for everything wrong in the world..._

_We should've known, though, that Hope was always stronger than he looked, always more resourceful than people gave him credit for. He'd survived so long on his own... why did we give up on him?_

\----------------------------------------------------------

It's just past midnight and I still can't sleep. I lay on the mattress in Lightning's guest room, staring out the window at the bright beacon of light that is Cocoon, resting on its crystal pillar. Even now, it still seems so surreal to see it out there above the plains...

I sigh and roll onto my back, staring up at the ceiling. It'd been so simple to fall asleep the first night I spent here under Lightning's roof - I'd been so exhausted from my journey and subsequent race to get Snow and Hope to safety that I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. And then last night I'd fallen asleep to the sound of that man on the television droning on and on about something that probably only Hope or Serah could understand. But tonight... I feel restless. Like something's off in the universe, only I can't place my finger on what.

Finally, I give up and leave the warmth of my bed, making my way towards the stairs. I can hear Snow's deep, slow breaths from the sofa downstairs, but then I can also hear the sound of someone else moving around in the darkness.

Quietly, I crouch at the top of the stairs and gaze down into the livingroom through the railing: I can see a dark shape by the door, rummaging carefully through the pockets of a long coat that must be Snow's. A small sound of relief reaches my ears as the shadowy figure pulls an object from Snow's pocket, and I watch as it moves towards the door.

Slowly, the door is opened and the light from Cocoon that spills in illuminates Hope slightly, just before he steps outside.

Curious, I creep down the stairs and make my way towards the window to watch as Hope heads across the beach towards the path that heads up to where the airships are docked. I pull on my boots quickly and carefully follow Hope out into the night.

It doesn't surprise me to see Maqui and Yuj talking to Hope near the Shiva when I arrive at the docking area, but I am a bit taken aback when I realize the three of them are arguing.

"We're just worried about you, Hope!" Yuj growls loudly. "It's one thing to take a joyride to New Eden for a few hours, but Cocoon? You don't think someone's gonna notice that?"

"Yeah, seriously Hope, this isn't like you." Maqui agrees cautiously. "What's going on? Why do you want to go to Cocoon? Is it... about your dad?"

Hope pushes past Yuj and Maqui and unlocks the Shiva's ramp before pressing a button to lower it. "You don't have to come. I can manage on my own. There's just... something I need to do."

"You're crazy if you think we're letting you go by yourself!" Yuj replies, following Hope up the ramp into the ship. "Snow would kill me if I let you crash his baby."

I watch as Maqui walks up the ramp after Yuj and Hope, a nervous look on his face. Once he's inside the ship, I leave the safety of my hiding spot and dash through the shadows towards the ramp. I manage to climb onto it before the ramp starts to close shut, and find myself raised mechanically into the airship. I hide myself in the cargo space as best I can, but I don't think I have to worry: Yuj, Maqui and Hope are distracted with the prospect of going to Cocoon, they don't realize that they have a stowaway on board.

Hours pass without incident, and then as we near what must be the area outside of Eden, the ship lurches suddenly to the left. I grab hold of the cables that anchor the crates of supplies to the floor in order to maintain my position.

I hear Yuj swearing loudly from up in the cockpit area, and Maqui is grumbling about what a bad idea it was to come out to Cocoon. If Hope has anything to say, I can't hear him.

Several dips and and dives through the air later, I hear - and feel - the landing gear move into position. I'm not sure where we are, exactly, but the terrain that the ship moves over feels rough and uneven. The engines whir slowly to a halt, and the ship is filled with silence for what feels like forever.

"Whatever it is we came here for had better be worth it, Hope." Yuj says after a moment, and I hear the sound of buckles being released. "Because that... was insane."

I'm careful to move quickly and quietly into the darkened recess behind the crate that separates me from the seating area and the ramp as the sound of footsteps approach. Maqui races down the ramp like he's on fire, and a few seconds later I can hear the sound of him retching outside. He must have a weak stomach, I guess.

"Maybe you and Maqui should stay here and guard the ship. I know where I'm going, it shouldn't be more than a few hours to cross the lake."

"I don't know, Hope..." Yuj replies uncertainly. "I mean, yeah, the lake looks safe enough but if there are soldiers out there -"

"Which is why someone needs to stay with the ship, to be ready to move if they show up."

I hear the footsteps pause, and carefully peak around the corner of the crate. Yuj is giving Hope a disapproving frown, and Hope is just... unreadable.

"This was your plan all along, wasn't it? To get me to bring you here. You knew we'd be harassed when we got to the edge of the restricted zone, you knew Maqui'd get sick. What's out there, Hope? Why are we here?"

"There was someone I knew... back then. I want to know... no, I need to know... if what I heard was true." Hope closes his eyes, and for a moment, I can see a flash of guilt and regret on his face. "Lightning and Snow... even Serah... they would've understood why, but they still... probably wouldn't have let me come here. And I need this, Yuj. I have to see for myself, you know?"

Yuj looks away, and I can tell from the tension in his shoulders - in the way that his hands are clenched into fists at his side - that he's just as angry with Hope as he is sympathetic and concerned.

"I really don't think you should go alone." Yuj says finally. "Maqui can stay here and watch the ship, I can go with you -"

Before Hope can argue with Yuj, I emerge from my hiding spot.

"I'll go with him." I say firmly.


	47. Return to Bresha, Hope's POV

_He came to me in my dreams again last night, Fang. Bhunivelze._

_This time, we were in the Hanging Edge. I was standing on the very spot where Snow let my mother fall to her death, and Bhunivelze hovered in the air in front of me._

_For a while, everything was quiet - frozen in time and space. But then Bhunivelze spoke to me, his voice echoing so loudly in that place that I felt my bones tremble..._

_It was his own fault, Bhunivelze said, that I didn't believe. It was the price he had to pay, for going back on our agreement - though what agreement that might have been, Bhunivelze didn't clarify. But he told me I could find the proof I needed if I was bold enough to search for it. And in that moment, I made up my mind: I would go to Cocoon, to the Bresha ruins..._

\----------------------------------------------------------

"Hope, wait a minute!" Noel says, following close behind as I walk off the Shiva's ramp and out into Cocoon's fal'cie-filtered air. "Where are we going?"

Maqui is off to the side, crouched over as his stomach tries to settle, and I storm off in the opposite direction, towards the ruins on the other side of the lake. The last time I was hear, the lake had turned to crystal so clear that it had looked like ice. Now, it just looks like an ordinary lake - as ordinary as possible, I suppose, considering the velocycles that I can see hovering closer to the ruins. Who knows how many soldiers are patrolling inside, how many I'll have to battle just to see for myself whether or not my dreams are driving me crazy?

I sigh heavily and point across the lake to where the highest point of Bresha's ruins can be seen. "I need to go there."

"There?" Noel repeats, following my finger to the ruins in the distance. "But isn't that..."

"The Bresha ruins." I inform him. "A lot of people died here during the War of Transgression, and more still died here during the Purge of Bodhum. This whole area used to be covered in crystal."

"So... what is it that you're looking for in those ruins?" Noel asks. "And why is the military involved?"

"The soldiers prevent people from vandalizing the memorials." Yuj responds quickly, coming to stand between Noel and me on the edge of the lake. "You'd think people would've gotten used to the idea of l'cie by now, but the simple truth is... there's a lot of people out there who are still anti-l'cie. They'd stop at nothing to see all traces of l'cie gone from Cocoon and Gran Pulse, and there's a monument in the Bresha ruins to commemorate the journey of the l'cie who defeated Orphan..."

"So the soldiers protect that monument from people who don't like l'cie." Noel repeats slowly. He scratches the back of his head, then turns an inquisitive gaze on me. "Somehow, I doubt you came all this way to see a monument to something you actually experienced."

"You're right." I nod tersely. "I want to see the other monument. The one with the names of the people who died in the ruins... when the Sanctum had them killed for trying to escape the Purge."

There's an odd look in Noel's eye - like he's struggling to keep from saying or doing something. Something he might... regret. But the tension in his shoulders is quick to release, and he nods his assent.

"Okay, so we just need to get you there so you can see that monument, and then we can leave. Right?"

I nod reluctantly, but Noel just smiles reassuringly at me.

"Let's get going then. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can come back." he says. "Gotta say, I think fighting those soldiers is gonna be easier than facing Lightning's wrath later, though."

"I... don't even want to think about that right now." I reply honestly. If I'm wrong about this - if everything really is my imagination - then Lightning will have every reason to be disappointed in me. But if I'm right...

How can I look Lightning - or anyone - in the face again? If it's true... if I was a... a vessel for Bhunivelze, then...

I snap out of my thoughts when I feel myself being shoved forward. I turn to glance over my shoulder at Noel who shrugs and shakes his head at me.

"Well, are we going or not?" he asks.

I guess... he has a point. I wave silently to Yuj and Maqui, then turn to begin the trek around the lake's shore. Noel walks quietly beside me.

"So all this used to be crystal, huh?" Noel asks after twenty minutes of silence. He looks out over the water that laps up against the shore with a dazed look on his face. I'm not sure why - the sea that New Bodhum rests by is much larger in comparison. Maybe Noel just... doesn't have a very active imagination.

"Yeah." I say. I point towards the west of the ruins, to the massive structure of the Bodhum Vestige standing in the midle of the lake. "When that vestige fell here from the Hanging Edge... everything turned to crystal. It looked like ice at first, but it wasn't cold or slippery. I guess... it was pretty to look at, though I really... I didn't notice it all that much at the time."

"Why not?" Noel asks.

I stop in my tracks and look out at the Vestige, then crane my neck upward to where the Hanging Edge is located - mile and miles above us. "My mom... died... not all that long before I became a l'cie, which was pretty much... right before we fell down here. It... I..."

I can feel Noel's eyes on me - probably that same pitying look that Vanille gave me when she realized that my mom was gone, and I was on my own. The same look I'd seen on everyone's faces when Orphan was gone, and we woke up on the Archylte Plain, right after I realized that mom wasn't coming - that she was _never_ coming...

"Hope!" Noel shouts a warning and I turn abruptly even as I instinctively whip Nue out of my back pocket.

I've barely sighted the group of three soldiers before I send the boomerang flying into their midst. I watch as the weapon connects with one soldier, then a second, knocking both to the ground - unconscious. The third soldier rushes towards me, raising his blade high. As if in slow motion, I watch the sword slice through the air in front of me in a downward arc, but before I can think to dodge it, Noel steps between the blade and me - parrying it with his own sword. With what seems to be little more than a flick of his wrists, Noel sends the last soldier staggering backwards. A loud growl escapes Noel's lips as he moves with a speed that could rival Lightning's: he runs forward and finishes the soldier off, butting the hilt of his sword against the enemy's skull.

"That was some fast fighting." Noel says, returning his sword to the sheath on his back.

"These guys are nothing." I reply easily, recalling the battles I'd fought in against fal'cie like Barthandelus. "Still, I guess we shouldn't let our guard down."

The trek around the lake's edge takes longer than I initially anticipated, but as we run into several more patrol squads, I'm grateful that Noel decided to sneak along. I'm pretty confident that I could handle the soldiers on my own, but I know I wouldn't be as efficient - and I'd probably have a few more injuries as well. At least keeping up with Noel isn't a problem - it's a lot easier now than it was all those years ago when I'd gone with Lightning in hopes of finding the strength to avenge my mother...

"Hey." Noel says suddenly, elbowing me in the ribs to refocus my attention. "No time for day-dreaming now."

"R-right. Sorry." I reply, nodding and following him quickly into the ruins.

We crouch down behind a massive block of fallen stone work and peer carefully around it to watch as several patrol units interact about fifty meters away. Soon, a velocycle joins the patrols - the soldiers are tightening security. They know the area's been breached.

"This is gonna get difficult." Noel whispers as we both duck back down. "You sure you want to go through with this?"

"I didn't come all this way just to turn back now." I reply firmly. I take Nue out of my pocket and unfold it carefully.

Noel looks rather resigned to his fate at my declaration, but he nods and carefully pulls his sword from the holster on his back. "On my count. One... two..."

Before Noel can say 'three', I stand up and whip Nue in the direction of the chief officer on duty. Unlike the other soldiers we encountered, the boss doesn't go down with a single hit to the head: if anything, it seems to make him madder.

"Hope!" Noel growls angrily at me as the soldiers and velocycle head our way, but he runs to meet them head-on, even as I try to maneuver myself into a better position to keep the enemy far enough away that I can fight effectively.

Two soldiers swoop in from the sides to try to stop Noel from taking out their boss, but they aren't prepared for my Thundara spell. They sink to the ground, bodies twitching from the electrical impulses flooding their nervous system, while Noel presses forward. He disposes of a third soldier with a single swipe of his short sword, pivots and turns on his heel to narrowly avoid being shot by one of the looming velocycles. The bullets strafe past Noel, sending shards of chipped marble into the air as they land.

"A little help here, Hope!" Noel shouts at me as the commanding officer tries to mount an offensive attack against Noel, the velocycle covering the officer from behind.

"Sorry!" I reply, sending a volley of Aeroga and Fira at the velocycle. "These guys aren't that weak to magic."

Noel lets out a growl that could be a curse, then shoves the enemy officer so hard that the soldier falls to the ground in surprise. It's only a temporary solution, though, and Noel has to throw himself sideways behind a semi-collapsed wall to avoid more gunfire from the velocycle.

"Really wish I'd known that before we attacked!" Noel shouts at me. "And by 'we' I mean 'you'!"

I shrug helplessly, then dash forward a few feet before ducking behind a standing pillar. I peer around it in time to see the officer get back on his feet - he looks mad, and this time he's coming after me. I let him get within four feet of me before sending another Thundara spell his way: the officer falls with a grunt of pain at my feet.

Noel tries to distract the velocycle as best he can, weaving in-and-out of the nearby rubble with an ease that the velocycle doesn't have. I fire spell after spell at the enemy, feeling my energy drain along with my mana. Just when I start to think that this battle will never end, that Noel and I are going to die here in the Bresha ruins, Noel launches his sword like a javelin at the velocycle. The weapon strikes the area where the engine should be located, and the loud groaning sound as the velocycle starts to fall out of the air confirms it.

I walk past Noel towards the path that leads to the make-shift cemetery: the area where the memorial stone should be. I feel like I'm dreaming as I see the headstones marking several graves, and the tall marble monument that stands nearby. My heart pounds, my head feels fuzzy... this is the moment I've been waiting for.

Suddenly, I'm standing in front of it: my eyes scan over the characters etched in stone. And there it is, the name that I shouldn't know: Alyssa Zaidelle.

It wasn't a dream. It happened - all of it. I'd grown up, I'd travelled through time in an attempt to find my friends... and I'd become the vessel of a god, Bhunivelze.

I'm still reeling from shock when I see Noel's reflection in the marble.

"You knew." I say hoarsely. "You told me I was dreaming, but you _knew_ that I wasn't."

"I know." Noel replies softly. "I'm sorry."

I reach out to touch the marble, feeling the letters of Alyssa's name beneath my fingertips. She'd been real, too, even though when I'd met her she'd been a paradox for Noel and Serah to fix...

I pull my hand away and stare at the marble: a bright light seems to trace each name etched in the stone, and then... a sound like thunder fills the air. The monument seems to split suddenly in half, the part with Alyssa's name on it falling to the ground. The broken edge faces the sky, and as I look at it, I see that the monument had been hollowed out somehow. I kneel down to reach into the hollow and grasp a blue crystal sphere. It barely fits in the palm of my hand, but the way that it seems to shine when I lift it from the hollow tells me that I'm meant to have it. I pocket it carefully, then stand up with my back still to Noel.

"Let's go home."


	48. Repetition, Snow's POV

_Ugh._

_I can't believe it. Two times. Two. Times._

_How is my ship stolen two times, right out from under my nose?!_

_Maybe Sazh was right, maybe I should start sleeping with my keys around my neck... Because keeping them in my jacket pocket - or even in the tray by the door at home - doesn't seem to prevent teenagers with sticky fingers from taking them._

_Not that they're gonna get away with it for long, Nora. Lightning and Serah were so mad this morning when Lebreau came over to tell us that the ship - and Yuj and Maqui - were gone. When we realized that Hope and Noel were missing too, well..._

_It wasn't pretty. I mean, I think Lightning was more worried than upset - she was the last person who spoke to Hope, after all. She probably blames herself. Sazh didn't seem too worried, especially considering that Noel is with them, but Serah..._

_I think, in the back of her mind, whenever Serah thought of the possibility that Noel could return to us... I think she dreamed of going on adventures with him, like they did during the paradox timeline. I know Serah misses those days, just as much as she missed Noel himself: days where she proved to Lightning - and herself - that she could be independent, that she was strong. And I think... that might have something to do with it, why Serah's so upset._

_Not that Serah's feelings are gonna change Noel's mind, if that's even the reason she was 'left out' of this latest escapade. I lived with Noel for a few centuries in Luxerion, Nora: I know that he won't risk putting Serah's life in danger. Not again. And Noel's not the kind of guy who goes running off with goofballs like Yuj and Maqui for a joy ride._

_Something's definitely up and somehow... I think it has to do with that dream Hope had. The one he told Noel about, which seemed to consist of memories of the past. Memories that were lost to him when we all woke up on the Archylte plains a few years ago..._

_I should've told Lightning about it as soon as I saw her. But before I even got the chance to talk to Lightning alone... she'd gone and told Hope about his dad. About his step-mom. I know... that was hard enough on Lightning. I thought I'd be doing her a favor, keeping my mouth shut for another day or two. You know, give her a chance to breathe._

_Looks like I was wrong again, huh?_

_And she was so busy this morning, organizing patrols from the villagers who volunteered to help, that I didn't get a chance to tell Lightning anything. Even Serah ran out before I could do more than say 'be safe.'_

_What am I gonna do, Nora?_

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

Sazh sighs heavily as he sinks into the chair, shaking his head slowly.

"Nothin'." he says softly to me. "Radio is silent, and there's no sign of the Shiva from here to Oerba or New Eden."

"That's a good sign, though." I say optimistically. "I mean, there's no sign of any wreckage then, either, right?"

"I guess that's one way to look at it." Sazh replies seriously. "But there's also this to consider: we don't know when they left. They could've had as much as a six hour head-start on us, and probably closer to eight by the time we reacted. There's no telling if they headed west of Oerba into the deadlands, if they went east of Paddra to the wetlands, or if they stayed on Pulse at all. For all we know, they could've gone to Cocoon to see Bartholomew Estheim himself."

My stomach twists into a painful knot at the thought of Hope going to see his father - especially knowing that his step-mother might be up to something. As if that thought isn't bad enough, I remember with painful clarity the night that Hope was nearly kidnapped - the night I'd found him unconscious and burning with fever on the outskirts of the village. What if Hope had been kidnapped by his step-mom, and Noel had taken the airship keys to try to get Hope back?

"Lightning's group just finished sweeping the Hearii ruins area with the archaeology team, they should be heading back soon." Sazh continues. "We'll have to wait until tomorrow to expand the search radius."

"But..." I feel disappointed, but I understand the reason for calling it a day. The svarog that come out at night are typically more violent, and our sensors typically mistake the svarog for other airships. It _would_ be wiser - and safer - to wait until morning to continue the search. But the hours between now and the sun rising could be the difference between life and death if Hope and the others are in danger...

There's a familiar sound of footsteps on the porch, and Sazh and I both turn our heads to look towards the door. It could be Gadot, coming to report any findings his team has after searching the area where the Paddra ruins used to be. Maybe they found something - a clue, or...

The door knob turns, and the door swings open slowly as Hope enters the house.

My immediate reaction is to let out the breath I didn't know I'd been holding: despite being missing for an estimated sixteen hours, Hope looks unhurt. Though the way he pulls off his boots and drops them casually to the floor without setting them neatly off to the side, toes facing the door, tells me that Hope is troubled about... something. He walks towards the kitchen and grabs an apple from the fruit basket on the counter, then freezes momentarily when he realizes that Sazh and I are both watching him silently from the living area.

Before either of us can say a word to Hope, Hope heads towards his room and shuts the door.

"Well, if Hope's back, the others won't be far behind." Sazh murmurs. "I'd better radio Lightning so she and Serah can stop worrying."

I nod and watch as Sazh heads towards the door, and before he can even move to pull on his shoes, the door opens again. This time, Noel and Gadot step through and Noel... looks miserable.

"I found 'em coming up the beach." Gadot says as Noel moves to sit in the chair Sazh had been sitting in. "I'm betting Lebreau's giving Yuj and Maqui an earful right now, but tell Lightning that they're all hers if she feels like doling out punishments."

"Thanks." I reply honestly. "I'm sure sis'll take you up on that sometime tomorrow."

Gadot nods and starts to yawn as Sazh moves to leave the house.

"I'll stop by in the morning." Gadot says, turning to follow Sazh. "Right now... I'm gonna go hit the hay. It's been a long day."

"G'night, buddy!" I wave to Gadot and wait until the door closes behind him before turning to Noel. "Where the hell were you guys?! Everyone was worried sick, half the village has been out all day looking for your corpses!"

"It wasn't like a planned vacation." Noel replies, voice barely a whisper. "I didn't even know what they were up to... and by the time I did... it was too late to turn back."

"Where did you go?" I ask. "What the hell happened?"

"We went... to Cocoon. To Bresha." Noel says, taking a long, shuddering breath before raising his head to meet my eyes. "He saw the memorial with Alyssa's name on it. He knows..."

"Hope... knows..." I repeat slowly. No wonder Hope was behaving so strangely when he came home - to know that Noel was lying about the memories he'd recalled as a dream, to realize that he'd existed in another world, that he'd been the focus of an assassination attempt... it had to be overwhelming. Life-altering. And it's only a matter of time before Hope realizes that the rest of us knew about his missing memories, too. 

Hell, maybe he already knows. Maybe that's why he seemed so startled to see Sazh and me in the living room - maybe he just felt so betrayed... that he couldn't stand to look at us, let alone talk to us. It... wouldn't be the first time it's happened, anyway. Not for me or Noel.

Damn it, Nora. Can't I ever get anything right with your son?


	49. Denial

_I... still remember that day, Hope. That day we met, when I... almost killed you._

_It seems so long ago, now, but I can still hear the surprise and terror in your voice when Odin appeared, ready to kill you with a single strike. In that moment, I saw you for what you were - what I'd refused to acknowledge until that moment: that you were a child, far away from home and anyone you'd known or trusted. You were scared, looking to anyone for guidance and some small assurance of safety._

_I... must've seemed like your best chance, and in one moment of selfishness, I almost betrayed that misplaced trust._

_I was so ashamed of myself... I fought Odin's advances as I'd never fought before that moment, trying to protect you from my stupid, foolish wish. When it was over, and the eidolon conquered, you... you blamed yourself, for being too weak, too slow..._

_You were too kind to place the blame where it belonged. On me. From that moment forward, I vowwed to myself that I would protect you the way that I hadn't protected Serah. That I would get you home, even if it killed me._

_We've been through so much since then. Together we faced fal'cie, explored the surface of Pulse, and with our friends, we defeated Orphan._

_But there was a time when I disappeared from the world, sucked into the fight between Caius Ballad and the Goddess, Etro. From Valhalla, I watched Serah mourn my loss - and saw as you were slowly abandoned by the comrades we once fought beside. You were still a kid, and although my focus was on my duty to protect the Goddess and my desire to reunite with my sister, I watched as you became a man. A respected scientist, someone that I knew would go on to do great things..._

_I... was so proud of you, Hope. Despite your fears, your loneliness, and the hardships you knew would be waiting for you... you willingly sacrificed the life you knew to travel through time and aid Serah and Noel on their quest to find me. All in the hopes that someday, we would all be reunited._

_It's funny, isn't it? I used to listen to your dreams, you know, when you slept away the centuries in your time machine. I saw how much you missed your mother, how much you missed us all... and yet, when the world was reborn and we were mostly reunited... all you do is run from me, any more._

_I wonder, Hope... if you could remember those days, would you stop running?_

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The house is almost silent when Serah and I finally arrive, the only sound is the snoring coming from Snow on the sofa, and the occassional murmur from the baby as he sleeps.

"Where is everyone?" Serah whispers as she slips off her shoes and places them carefully off to the side.

I nearly trip over Hope's scattered shoes, and curse as I set them where they belong. I pull off my boots one-by-one and set them next to Hope's before replying.

"Probably in bed, where they belong."

"I guess..." Serah walks into the kitchen and turns on the light above the stove. It's been hours since we last ate, the both of us too worried to feel pangs of hunger, and now that our missing loved ones have returned, so has the need to eat. "What should I make? Grilled cheese?"

"That's fine." I reply, casting a glance over the back of the sofa to check on Snow. It's reassuring that he's sleeping so well - if either Hope or Noel were injured or sick, Snow would've been awake to tell us about it. "I'm gonna look in on Hope."

As soon as I round the corner into the hallway, I see a shadow sitting in the darkness just beyond Hope's door. As I cautiously approach, I realize that it's Noel, sitting awkwardly against the wall.

"Hey." I say, bending down to shake Noel's shoulder.

"Hm...?" Noel murmurs as he slowly wakes, looking up at me. "Light... ning?"

"Go to bed." I command gently. "We'll talk in the morning."

Noel nods and reluctantly stands, groaning as his limbs protest the sudden change in position. When he moves stiffly towards the living room, I open the door to Hope's room and peer inside.

The light by Hope's bed is on, illuminating the teenager sleeping awkwardly on his stomach, his head near the foot of the bed and his feet resting on top of his pillows. Spread out around him are dozens, maybe even hundreds, of pictures. Some of the pictures seem to be recent: Yuj and Maqui on either side of Hope in what seems to be a crowded photobooth, Snow holding baby Noel while Serah looks at them over the back of the sofa... there's even a picture of me standing beside Sazh on the porch, both so absorbed in our conversation that I doubt either of us realized we were being photograph. Other pictures are older, and it takes me a minute to realize that I've seen them before: the pictures from the boxes that Rygdea sent down weeks ago with Snow. Images of Serah and I - younger and on either side of our mother - stare up at me, laying amidst pictures of Snow and the rest of NORA from various days spent in the orphanage.

What... is all of this for, I wonder? And when did Hope find the time to go rummaging through the spare closet?

I shake my head as I gather the pictures quietly, trying not to wake Hope since he seems to be sleeping soundly. Still, it's surprising to look at some of the pictures: one is of my father - long before Serah or I were born - standing beside a younger girl whose face seems familiar, but whose name I can't recall. I turn the picture over to read in my mother's elegant scrawl: 'Nickie and Toughie.' Nickie... it must have been my father's nickname, as his given name was Nicholas. The name Toughie must refer to the girl, but the name... doesn't ring any bells. With a shrug, I add it to the growing collection in my hand and pick up another, more mysterious photograph of Serah and myself as young children, sitting on either side of an infant. For one reality-crushing second, I wonder if Serah and I had had another sibling, but when I turn the picture over, it identifies the baby as 'Toughie's son, four weeks old.'

I... don't remember the picture at all. It's odd, because I look like I was eight or nine years old in it, old enough to be able to remember. Strange... Maybe Serah would be able to remember it?

Shoving the bothersome photo into my pocket, I turn towards Hope's desk, covered as it is with stacks of books and scattered piles of notes, to deposit the rest of the pictures.

"Lightning?"

When I hear Hope's voice, so small and uncertain, I feel my heart skip a beat. The last time I'd heard him sound like that...

"Go back to sleep." I say firmly, slowly pivoting to face him.

Hope looks... beyond exhausted, beyond distraught. I can't help but wonder just where the hell he and Noel were all day, and what they were doing, but... now isn't really the time to ask. We both need rest.

"I can't. Lightning, I -"

"You need to sleep, Hope. We both do." I reply. I usher Hope under his blanket. "We can talk in the morning, okay?"

He doesn't look happy, but Hope nods, closing his eyes reluctantly.

"Sweet dreams." I murmur, turning out the light before I leave the room.

I shut the door behind me as quietly as I can, feeling a little better now that I've seen Hope is okay.


	50. The Vision - Hope's POV

_In the year 500 AF, we made a pact._

_Well, I say 'we', but... in reality, mom? It was really Snow's idea. Of the three of us, Snow was the most optomistic. It was a bit of a shock for Noel - I guess he figured Snow would blame him, hate him, for Serah's death. But I knew better, having fought beside Snow when Serah originally turned to crystal. As crushing as the weight of my own guilt was, Snow's resiliance... was a comfort in those dark days._

_Still... the dreariness of our reality, the lack of any kind of true progress... wore on us all. I watched as Snow and Noel turned to alcohol in their despair, and I..._

_I tried to mediate as best as I could, especially when they got really violent. But as the frequency - and length - of the incidents increased, I realized that it was only a matter of time before our little group became even smaller. It terrified and saddened me to no end, but the harder I tried to mend the rift between my two friends, the larger the gap seemed to become._

_Then the day came... when Snow actually left. He didn't even leave a note, the big jerk. And Noel..._

_I don't think I'll ever forget that look on his face: disbelief. As though it was impossible to believe that Snow would leave anyone so easily, so quickly, after so many centuries. Snow'd left Serah behind easily enough when he'd begun the search for Lightning - it didn't surprise me at all that we could be just as easily forsaken._

_But Noel took our abandonment personally - and I guess I did, too. Even as I wanted - and tried - desperately to find Snow to bring him back home, I was frustrated at being left behind. Again._

_I can't even count how many nights Noel and I would sit in the living area, picking disinterestedly at whatever food I'd made to eat. Noel was so quiet in those days, barely saying a word, and I didn't know what to say to comfort him, or myself. I couldn't even blame Noel at all when he finally decided not to come home one night. I resigned myself to being alone, perpetually left behind even as the world around me died._

_I spent weeks thinking about the past. How decisions I'd made had led to the end of the world - and how I would change it if given the chance._

_It all led back to the same moment, mom._

_You remember, don't you? How dad was supposed to go with us on that trip to Bodhum, until that last-minute seminar and a sick colleague prevented him from going. You'd planned on post-poning our family vacation, but I... I selfishly talked you into going without dad. If I hadn't..._

\--------------------------------------------------------------

The house is silent when I wake. I stare at the darkness above my bed, trying to remember the troubling dream I'd just had, but it escapes me.

Heaving a sigh, I sit up and swing my legs over the edge of my bed. I feel like I've aged a hundred years, or maybe five hundred is closer to the truth. Bits of recollections from my past life - waking in a tiny closet of a bedroom in Luxerion, alone and weary - rise unbidden in my mind as I force myself to my feet.

My body feels like lead as I drag myself down the hall towards the living area. Through the windows on either side of the front door, the sky is only just beginning to show the faintest signs of light coming up over the horizon. I walk past the couch where Snow is snoring, one arm flung across his eyes to block out the offending light of morning, and head into the kitchen.

I don't even realize what I'm doing in the kitchen until after I've set the coffee to brew. I listen distantly to the burble-trickle sounds of the pot as I lean back against the counter, recalling a thousand times I'd made coffee before in that other world... I shake my head to clear it, and let out a long, slow breath as I ponder my current predicament.

"Good morning."

The sound of Noel's voice startles me. He stands in the doorway of the kitchen, looking as uncertain as I suddenly feel.

"Uh... good morning." I reply, even as my mind begins to race. 

Noel knows that I remember the other world, but did he share that knowledge with anyone else last night? I wonder if he had, and if so, who? Not Lightning - she would've apologized last night if she knew, and so would Serah. Sazh had left before Noel had a chance to say 'hello', let alone anything else, so he couldn't know yet either.

Would... would Noel have told Snow? Somehow, that thought makes me feel... uneasy. I'm not sure why.

Behind me, the last few drops of coffee spill like a torrent into the pot, distracting me from the otherwise uncomfortable silence that hangs between Noel and I.

Suddenly, it just seems so... ridiculous. We lived together for over a century in that other life, Noel was like a brother to Snow and I back then. When we disagreed, even when they fought... we were all still friends back then. Why does it feel so different now?

"Coffee?" I ask, glancing nervously at Noel.

Noel nods tersely. "Please."

I turn and drag two cups from the cupboard above the pot, then fill each cup. With one cup held in each hand, I turn around and find Noel standing much closer to me than he had been a moment ago. I step back in surprise, jarring my lower back on the kitchen counter. Coffee sloshes over the rim of the cups, burning my fingers. 

"Ow!" I hiss, setting the cups on the counter.

"Sorry!" Noel murmurs, reaching behind me for a towel. He grabs my wrist to wipe away the coffee, but in the moment that our skin touches, I remember my dream.

_I'd been standing in a brightly-lit cave, on what appeared to be a large, circular altar. My heart had been racing with terror, and certainty that what was about to happen, had to happen. Noel had been there, standing in front of me, his face an unreadable mask. As my gaze drifted from Noel's face to his blood-coated forearm, I'd felt dizzy and scared and relieved... Then Bhunivelze's voice had whispered seemingly in my ear, 'All will be as it should be.'_

"Hope? Hope!" Noel's voice is rising, and I realize that I'm leaning heavily against him.

"Wha...?" I feel exhausted, and the room is spinning. "Why?"

"I think you're just a little shell-shocked." Noel murmurs, half-dragging me to the breakfast table. I feel like an overgrown doll as he settles me into a chair. "I didn't mean to scare you. I thought you heard me."

"I didn't." I reply softly. 

I look at Noel as he sits beside me, and it's as if I'm seeing him for the first time. Last night, I'd been too angry at discovering the secret that everyone had kept from me - but now I realize... Noel should be in Valhalla with Yeul. Why is he here? How is he here?

"Did you..." I start to ask the question, but I'm afraid to hear the answer. Had Noel seen the same dream I had? Was that his reason for being here, to make that dream a reality?

Noel reaches out a large hand to brush over my forehead, and I can't help but flinch slightly from his touch. If Noel notices my aversion, he ignores it.

"I don't think you have a fever," Noel murmurs. "Still, you look really pale. Do you need anything?"

"I..." I close my eyes and try to think. How do I handle this situation? "I have... a favor to ask."

"Okay." Noel says quietly.

"I... want you to keep it between us." I reply slowly. "About... my memories. Light's... got a lot on her mind right now. I don't want her to worry even more, or feel guilty about... well... you know."

"Hope..." Noel's voice trails off, but he doesn't argue with my request.

"Please, Noel. I... I need you to promise me you won't tell anyone."

Reluctantly, Noel meets my eyes. He nods tersely, though the set of his shoulders and the tension in his jaw is a testament to how little he wants to comply. He's probably only agreeing out of guilt, but I... I can't really complain. It's important, somehow, that Noel obeys my request.

We sit at the table in silence until Serah comes down the stairs. As Noel moves to the kitchen to make breakfast, I watch Serah walk past the ghostly figure of Fang sitting at our bar.

Fang's spirit looks over her shoulder at me and smiles thinly at me.

_"All will be as it should be."_

 


	51. The Oracle of Etro - Yuel's POV

_My first life, when it ceased, found my spirit in the halls of Valhalla, standing before the goddess Etro herself. I could not pass through to the void beyond Valhalla, could not follow the spirits of my deceased brethren into the darkness that all of life had once been conjured from._

_I thought Etro was the one preventing me from moving on. I thought that the goddess, seeing her image in my human form, was captivated with me and held me in that place for her own amusement. I remember crying to Etro, begging her to let me follow my friends into the darkness beyond the borders of the city of the dead._

_It was, I thought, a misunderstanding of my plea that caused the goddess to return me to the world of the living. My soul was aware from the moment my new body was conceived. I watched through infant eyes as friends I’d had in my first life grew older, some going on to marry and have children of their own, while others died in accidents or from disease. My new parents, I came to realize, had been my best friend and her husband in my last life. By the time my new body could speak, I called them by the only names I had ever known. Areum. Jihoon._

_All believed, then, that I was the incarnation of the girl they’d known as Yeul, the girl who’d drowned nine months before in the Sulyya springs. They believed that I’d been reborn for a purpose, and I became something of a religious figure. An oracle._

_People from across the land journeyed wide and far to seek out the one who’d been blessed by Etro, even before the first vision struck me. They built a shrine to me, and around it, the city of Paddra formed. By the time I turned thirteen, the Farseers were known throughout the world as the Keepers of Etro’s Word. I recorded everything I recalled of the goddess, from our similar appearance to the crystal throne on which she sat._

_When my first vision struck, I had already written fifteen scrolls detailing Valhalla and the travel of souls through Etro’s gate and beyond the sea of chaos. I knew nothing of what lay beyond that sea, but my first vision was of standing on that shore beside the goddess. I knew in that moment that I would not live much longer._

_Areum and Jihoon, who’d been my friends in my first life and parents in my second, were upset when I shared with them the vision I’d had. They tried to explain it away as a nightmare, and encouraged me to stay within the safety of my shrine. We were all unaware that the visions that would plague me over the following weeks would eventually result in my death._

_And so I returned to Valhalla, little more than fourteen years old, and found myself once again facing the Goddess._

_Etro was not the same as she’d been that first time I saw her. The sea of chaos had crept noticeably closer to the temple, and the goddess herself seemed troubled. It had not been her intention to pass on the gift of clairvoyance, she said. Nor had it been her intention to return me as I’d been to the world._

_Someone - or something - had interfered. Etro did not know what that force was, but she suspected that it was the same black mist that had swallowed her grandmother, Mwynn, on the day that the goddess had found herself in the halls of Valhalla._

_The Chaos._

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the second seal of Mwynn is broken, the sea of chaos rises.

It’s still far below the base of the temple, but it’s disconcerting none-the-less. I felt safer when Noel was with me, silently supporting me as I performed my task of recycling the souls of the dead.

But Noel is among the living now, and will continue to be until his task is complete.

With the second seal broken, I’m sure that we will be reunited soon, one way or another.

I gaze into my crystal mirror and watch as Sylvia Estheim smiles at a picture of Hope. The woman caresses the picture almost lovingly, then holds it to her chest.

“Soon, you’ll be mine.” Sylvia murmurs.

I wave my hand across the surface of my mirror, and the image changes to one of Bartholomew Estheim. The scientist is sitting at the desk in his office at the Academy, his head held in his heads. His worry for his son, Hope, is visible in the line of tension in his neck and shoulders. Reluctantly, he lets out a long breath before picking up his phone. He presses a well-worn button.

The phone rings twice before the line is picked up.

“Are you busy?” Bartholomew asks. “You’ll never believe what’s happened.”

A second swipe of my hand across the mirror brings forth an image of Hope, sitting on the edge of one of the steppes that overlook the Archylte plains. Noel stands beside him, arms crossed over his chest as he scans the area for threats. It’s a familiar sight to me, having had a vision once, long ago, of Noel protecting an older version of Hope from threat of assassination.

“You can’t protect me from everything.” Hope says suddenly, looking up at Noel.

“No.” Noel agrees. “I can’t. But it doesn’t have to stop me from trying.”

Hope’s eyes narrow as he dissects Noel’s words, then he slowly returns his gaze to the plains.

“I can’t decide if that’s better or worse.” Hope sighs.

Touching the mirror with my hand, the crystal clears itself of the images. The halls of Valhalla are silent around me as I stand and walk towards the balcony that overlooks the sea. It churns violently with the influx of chaos, desperately reaching for the temple where I reside. Given the chance, the chaos would devour me the way that it devoured Etro and Mwynn before me.

Knowing the hardships that Noel will face ahead, I can’t help but wonder if that isn’t a fate I deserve.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TBC


	52. A Father's Confession (Bartholomew POV)

_I never imagined myself as a father, Hope._

_When I was younger than you are now, I was twice as devoted to my studies. I thrived on knowledge, the building of machines and mixtures of chemicals that could produce solutions that were useful to society. I was not very sociable, and avoided at every turn the urging of my parents to make friends._

_It came as quite a shock to me when I was told that I would be married when I turned eighteen._

_It wasn’t an uncommon practice back then, for the parents of well-to-do families to arrange marriages between their children. Nora, your mother, was just as surprised as I was, I suppose. We’d never met before that first family dinner, the night that I graduated from university. We were obedient children, neither of us desiring to disappoint our parents. We didn’t fight the arrangement, though I’m certain that your mother had her share of doubts._

_We did come to love eachother, I think, in our own ways. Nora was the stability at home that I needed to be able to focus on my work, and I was away from home often enough that I think she grew to miss me when I was gone. When I think on how little time we spent together, it’s a wonder that we managed to conceive you._

_Yet even that miracle had its drawbacks._

_You were what the doctors called an ‘at risk’ infant, with a faint heart-beat and slow growth rate. We were told that there was a high chance that the pregnancy would terminate itself, or that you would be born with complications that I was unprepared to deal with. The doctors suggested an abortion, they said it would be easy for a couple as young as we were to try again with better results._

_It was the first time your mother and I argued. I remember raising my voice in frustration in the kitchen of our apartment, and your mother’s stubborn refusal to listen to what I thought was reason. We slept in separate rooms that night, your mother taking the bedroom while I fell asleep in the chair in my study. When I woke to ready myself for work the next morning, I found a note in the kitchen explaining that Nora had gone to her brother’s house in Bodhum._

_I wrote it off, Hope. All of it, the fight with your mother… even you. I didn’t want to become attached to something that would be taken from me too soon, you see. I thought I was doing right by your mother and I. I didn’t see myself for the coward that I truly was._

_Your mother was never cruel to me when you were born, against all odds, a normal child. She never held my actions against me, even though I’m sure some part of her wanted to. She raised you to be a fine young man, and you were well on your way to a bright future._

_I pushed too hard, didn’t I? Nora always said that I did - I wanted so badly for you to be like I was at your age, someone that I could relate to, understand. I urged you to join cram schools for the sciences, enrolled you in all the upper-level programming and mathematics classes that were available in your schools, and when that didn’t satisfy me, I paid colleagues at the university to tutor you as well. You had no time to be a child, and I couldn’t understand why Nora thought we needed a family get-away._

_It was natural of me to go to Eden, instead, to help a colleague with what felt like an emergency. Nora was gravely disappointed in me, and that was the only time until that point in your life that I can recall you talking back to me. You said that you’d quit the cram schools and all the tutoring if I didn’t go with you to Bodhum, and I remember the surprise on your face when I hit you. It was another first for us, wasn’t it?_

_I don’t remember exactly what I said to you after that, but I do know that Nora was upset. I was, too. Disappointed in the both of you for not understanding, and disappointed in myself for lacking the ability to make you understand why I felt the need to go to Eden. I told myself it would pass, that you and Nora would come back from Bodhum and realize that it was better without me, and we’d go back to the way our lives had always been._

_I never imagined… not in my wildest nightmare… that Nora would die, or that you would become a l’cie. That happened to other people in other parts of Cocoon, it could never happen in my family. That’s what I thought._

_Then I heard about the Purge. I rushed back to Palumpolem as quickly as I could, Hope. I tried to get to Bodhum, but the Sanctum wouldn’t let anyone thought - not even me. I mourned you and your mother for dead, only to discover days later that you were living a death-sentence as a l’cie._

_I harbored you and your friends - fugitives - for the night. Our home was destroyed in a matter of hours, and although you made it look as though I’d been a hostage, the Sanctum suspected differently. I was forced to hide my concern for your safety, for your life, and become anti-l’cie to keep my job and what little sanity I had left. I told myself it was for your sake, if you managed to somehow complete your focus and return to me. I didn’t expect either to actually happen._

_I buried myself in work. Even after Ragnarok, when Cocoon was spared destruction by the crystal pillar that your friends formed, I couldn’t bring myself to look for you. I didn’t want to be disappointed, Hope, I didn’t want to know if you were crystal or worse, dead. But I was lonely. I missed having a wife waiting for me at home, and warm meals on the table._

_When I met Sylvia, even after I realized the threat she posed, she filled an emptiness. She was highly intelligent, someone I could talk to in a way that I never could with your mother. Even though a part of me hated her beliefs, the way that she hated the l’cie, another part of me loved her. I let myself love her, even as I knew I couldn’t trust her._

————————————————————————————

“She’s _what_?!” Rygdea sputters, spraying the table with the cheap beer that he typically orders when we meet for after-work drinks.

I glance around the room nervously, but the few other patrons seem unconcerned with Rygdea’s outburst.

“You heard me.” I reply, taking a swig of my own beer. I’ve never particularly cared for beer - or alcohol in general - but it’s become something of a habit now more than ever.

“Well, _shit_.” Rygdea wipes his mouth with the back of his sleeve and shakes his head. “That’ll complicate things.”

“Putting it mildly.” I mutter.

Pregnant. Sylvia is pregnant with my child.

It was foolishness on my part, in so many ways. I should have taken precautions, knowing what was at stake. How can I ask Hope to trust me, his father, when there is evidence that I’ve been sleeping with the enemy? Yet how was I to keep Sylvia’s trust if I didn’t act the part of her husband?

“It’s gonna get out sooner or later. You gonna warn Hope?”

“I… don’t know if I should.” I don’t know if I can. The thought of it terrifies me. What will my son think of me, of his half-sibling growing inside his step-mother’s womb? It’s a betrayal of the most intimate trust, and one that will certainly raise Miss Farron’s hackles if not Hope’s skepticism.

“It’s not something he’s gonna wanna hear in court, man!” Rygdea reminds me. “Bad enough the kid’s gotta go through a full-blown court-hearing, you really wanna give ‘em a heart attack, too?”

“It might be better for everyone if he is surprised,” I reason aloud, “so that he stays on his guard.”


	53. Into Eden, Hope's POV

_Eden is nothing like I remember it, mom._

_Of course, the last time I set foot in the city was before Ragnarok - back when Adamantoise and Behemoths and all sorts of Pulse fauna were running rampant. There wasn't much time to marvel at the city back then, but now there's time to take in the sights, to breathe somewhat more easily and appreciate what I couldn't before._

_Not that Eden is the same as it was before. I remember the one time dad took me to Eden, long before I became a fal'cie. You weren't home at the time, visiting a sick friend, and dad… just didn't know what to do with me, I guess. I'll probably never know what gave him the idea, but I remember clearly standing on the view platform after disembarking the airship from Palumpolem. The whole city stretched out below us: floating islands connected by impossible stretches of metal and concrete, each dotted with what looked like giant clusters of crystals…_

_You probably realize that those crystal clusters that I thought I saw were actually giant steel-and-glass buildings, but at the time… I thought they were magical. I was so excited that I couldn't sit still, even after dad and I boarded a bus to venture into the heart of the city… There were so many airships, mom, so many people! I'd never imagined that so much could exist high among the clouds…_

_Not that the city flies like it used to anymore. When Orphan was destroyed, so too was the magic that powered the city. In the time since then, President Rygdea and dad have managed to find some way to levitate the city, but while Eden continues to exist several kilometers off the ground, it's now stationary. A shadow of its former self._

_It doesn't stop the buildings from being remarkable, though. Despite the scars of battle that many of the structures bear, they shine in the light as brightly as I remember from my childhood. Families walk together down the wide sidewalks still, faces content if not entirely gleeful, and it serves as a reminder that, no matter what awful things happen in the world, time continues to move on regardless…_

 

————————————————————————————————

 

The Paradise Inn is small by Eden standards, a skinny stack of ten floors wedged between a larger commercial tower and a span of smaller residential apartment complexes. From the outside, it doesn't look anything like its name implies: unlike its neighbors, the building is constructed of concrete and a few sparse windows on the upper levels.

The path to the inn's front doors is steep, but as we approach, I can see that the lower level has an entirely glass front. Despite the glare from the light reflecting on it, I can see through the glass enough to make out several small tables with chairs. There's also a vending machine, and a table that looks like it might have a coffee maker. It might not be fancy, but it'll serve as home for the next nine days during the court hearing and deliberations.

Lightning's the first to reach the door, and it slides open automatically to allow her through. Sarah and the baby, followed closely by Snow and most of our luggage, enter the building next.

When I step through the doors, I feel a sense of relief: air conditioning. I'd never realized how hot Eden was in summer, even so early in the day. Exposed to the cooler air of the lobby, I can feel where sweat has plastered my clothes to my body unpleasantly, and the ache in my legs becomes more pronounced. I just want to check in as quickly as possible so I can go to my room, grab a shower or at the very least, a change of clothes and a chair.

Noel seems as relieved as I am to be in the lobby, tugging uncomfortably at the collar of his shirt. We walk cautiously around a small bookcase filled with graphic novels and a sign proclaiming "For Temporary Loan." To the right of the book case is a small elevator, but the left opens up into a small dining area with the tables and chairs I'd seen from outside. A small, four-foot tall wall topped with potted bamboo separates the eating area from the lobby's counter where Lightning is standing.

"We booked a few rooms. Reservation under Farron." Lightning tells the older woman on the other side of the counter.

The attendant looks uncomfortable but tries to smile genially as she searches the inn's computer for the record. It's not hard to understand her trepidation: Lightning can be scary enough when she's in a good mood, and the long walk from the ship, coupled with the number of side-streets, back alleys and stairs we've had to climb to get here have left her in an even darker mood than usual.

"Here it is: Miss Claire Farron. You've booked three rooms for nine days, yes?"

Lightning levels a look at the attendant, then nods tersely.

"You'll be on the fourth floor. Here are the keys… And the elevator is right across the hall." The attendant smiles and bows her head deeply. "Thank you for choosing the Paradise Inn!"

Lightning accepts the keys from the attendant and hands one to Snow and another to Noel. Her face is unreadable as she turns her focus to me and asks simply: "Do you want to share a room with me, or would you rather share with Noel?"

I'd rather not share a room with anyone, but as a minor, I don't have much choice. Part of me wishes that it wasn't left to me to decide: I'd rather Lightning tell me to share a room with her, to cherish the coming days as much as possible since they may be our last as a family… For me to say it makes it seem more ominous, somehow, like I'm admitting that Lightning will lose to my father in court.

Even if it's probably true… I can't do it, not and pretend well enough to fool Lightning. She knows me too well for that.

"I'll room with Noel." I reply quickly. "If it's okay with you."

"Why wouldn't it be?" Lightning asks, shrugging too quickly, walking too suddenly to the elevator. She hefts her bag over her shoulder impatiently as she waits for the elevator to arrive, and even though she isn't looking at me directly, I can see a hint of hurt in the stiffness of her shoulders.

I should change my mind, should tell her that I'll share a room with her, but I can't bring myself to do it. The elevator doors open, but the car is barely large enough to squeeze three adults and their luggage, let alone all five of us. Lightning, Serah and Snow squeeze into the elevator, Serah cradling baby Noel carefully as the doors close them in. Noel and I stand waiting for the elevator to return for us.

"Are you sure about this?" Noel asks when the elevator whirs back down to the first floor. "I'm not gonna be offended if you'd rather spend a few nights with Lightning instead."

The elevator doors part and I walk into the car. Noel follows suit quickly, and I press the button for the fourth floor harder than strictly necessary. I don't respond to Noel's question. I can't.

"Looks like we're room 41." Noel murmurs, glancing at the key number.

When the elevator arrives on the fourth floor and lets us out, I turn instinctively to the right. Our room is marked with large, bronzed numerals, one of which is more than a little crooked. I watch as Noel slides the key into the lock and turns the knob.

Inside, the room is dark except for what light filters through heavy curtains across the window.

"Where's the light switch?" Noel grumbles, stumbling out of his heavy boots as he feels along the walls for a switch. A few seconds later, I hear the sound of a button being clicked and the room is flooded with light.

It's a really large room, easily twice the size of my room in New Bodhum, but it seems really empty despite the bag Noel drops from his shoulder to the floor. I pull off my shoes and set my own bag beside Noel's, walking deeper into the room.

There's a large bathroom close to the door that leads back out into the hall - it even has a tub, something that's considered a luxury on Pulse. Around the corner from the bathroom is the living area: a large bed rests against the wall shared with the bathroom, and across from that is a desk that spans the width of the room. There's an old-fashioned vid-screen on the far right of the desk, and a desk lamp with a chair, and a small refridgerator that's disappointingly empty when I open the door.

"It's roomier than I thought it'd be." Noel muses, dropping onto the bed.

"I guess." I reply, carefully peeking through the closed curtains. If nothing else, our room has a view of the air station where public transports can be most easily accessed. "I'm just glad to be out of the heat."

"Speaking of which…" Noel sits up and starts to shuck off his clothing. "I call first shot at the shower."

"Go for it."

Noel rummages through his bag quickly for a fresh change of clothes, then disappears into the bathroom. I hear the sound of the fan whirring through the closed door, then the sound of water pounding against the porcelain of the tub.

Sighing to myself, I throw myself at the bed, burying my face in the unyielding pillow. It's hard to believe that it's real, that I'm here and that in a little over a week, I might not be able to return to New Bodhum. I feel guilty that I'm not spending as much time with Lightning as I should be, but at the same time I'm relieved that I don't have to try so hard to deceive her because of it.

I half expect Lightning to knock on the door, to check on us, on me.

It doesn't come, and I know it won't.


	54. Courting Trouble, Noel's POV

 

_What would you do, Caius, if you were in Lightning's position?_

_Who am I kidding? You'd never have let yourself fall into such a position, even if you knew it was subterfuge to eliminate a potential threat. You would've confronted Sylvia head-on, sword first, and dealt with the consequences later._

_Lightning… she's like that, sometimes. Not as often now as when the world was dying, but there are moments when a narrowing of her eyes, a crossing of her arms over her chest, or a turn of phrase reminds me painfully of the you I'd been raised by._

_I remember when you first came to our village, when you told my grandmother that you would be staying for Yeul's sake. But Yeul was my responsibility, the one I was betrothed to. I was so jealous, even at five, that I'd charged at you with the small utility knife that I'd borrowed from my grandmother's tools without permission…_

_Of course you'd fended me off so easily, grabbing my wrist and squeezing until I dropped the would-be-weapon. I remember crying ugly tears of humiliation and despair, and the look of uncertainty in your face as you held me at arm's length, the knife laying on the ground between us._

_'You are brave, tiny hunter.'_

_That was what you said to me as we stood there. I remember sniffling loudly, glaring up at you through my tears._

_'Yeul is mine. Not yours.'_

_The look that crossed your face… I don't know how to describe it. Was it relief? Were you exhausted from centuries… millenia… spent searching for Yeul's incarnations, desperately trying to protect them from visions you couldn't even see?_

_'Very well.' You said, kneeling slowly in front of me. 'Yeul is yours, and you will be mine.'_

_I didn't understand what that meant at the time, didn't realize the burden I would inherit by becoming your protege. Even now, that fate still holds me captive…_

 

* * *

 

Hope is a bundle of nervous energy on the bench beside me. He fidgets with the turqoise colored tie he's wearing with his suit, runs a nervous hand through his pale hair and then rubs his Marked wrist absently as though the skin there itches.

Even when the world was ending, I don't know if I've ever seen him so distraught.

Snow seems to sense it, too, exchanging a knowing glance with me over Hope's head. I want to ask Snow if lawyers and judges are really such frightening things in the face of everything else we've come up against, but the tension in Hope's shoulders keeps me from saying anything.

Hope's nervousness seems to be contagious, my own hands itching to loosen my tie. I clench my hands to keep from fussing and instead try to focus on the spacious court room around us.

I've never seen anything like it before, even when Serah and I travelled the timeline in search of Lightning. The entire room could easily fit twice New Bodhum's population and still have room to spare. But the room is largely empty despite its large capacity.

It's a high profile case, Lightning's lawyer told us this morning, which is why there are several reporters and photographers lining the back of the court room wall. They watch like vultures, an occasional press of a button echoing loudly in the cavernous room. The tension in the air makes Serah's son wail unhappily, despite her soothing voice and attempts to rock him to sleep.

The back doors open suddenly, buttons pressing wildly as the photographers do their best to capture every moment, every face, involved with this particular case. Curious, I half turn in my seat and watch as the prosecutor arrives with Bartholomew Estheim in tow.

Estheim… doesn't look at all like I imagined he would. Somehow, I'd always pictured a slightly older version of Hope with perhaps a slightly stronger jaw, and maybe some facial hair. In reality, though, Bartholomew is almost as tall as Snow, with dark brown hair that's graying at the temples and thick rimmed glasses. The only thing about the man that seems vaguely reminiscent of Hope is the haunted look in his eyes as he tries to aim a tired smile in Hope's direction.

How many times have I seen Hope's older self give me that same look? The one that tried to convince me that everything was going to be okay, even though it was obvious that Hope was having trouble believing that himself…

I nudge Hope with an elbow to the side, but he shakes his head tersely at me, eyes fixated on the floor. By the time I look back to Bartholomew, the man has already followed his lawyer to the prosecution's table.

There's a brief moment when Lightning and Estheim's eyes meet, a silent communication passing between them before the occupants of the room are asked to stand. Then all eyes are at the front of the room as Honorable Judge Yu Nalenne makes her entrance.

She's younger than I expect: maybe a handful of years older than Lightning and Snow, but her eyes hold an ancient sorrow. She reminds me of Yeul in that respect, even as she casts her gaze over the entire courtroom silently before taking her seat behind the bench.

"You may all be seated." Judge Yu Nalenne says.

Clothing rustles and Serah's son whines briefly as we retake our seats, and then a fierce silence sweeps over the room.

Papers shuffle, and the judge clears her throat briefly.

"What case have you brought before me?"

The man who asked us to rise before the judge replies firmly, "Your Honor, today's case is that of Professor Bartholomew Estheim versus Claire Farron."

"Is the prosecution ready?"

Estheim's lawyer stands quickly. "Yes, your Honor."

As soon as the prosecution sits, the judge turns her steely gaze towards Lightning's lawyer.

"Is the defense ready?"

Maechen stands more slowly. "Yes, your Honor."

It takes longer for Maechen to sit, and after a lengthy pause, the judge motions towards the prosecutor who stands.

"Your Honor, I am Braska Nooj representing Professor Bartholomew Estheim in this case. I intend to prove that Ms. Farron kidnapped Professor Estheim's son shortly before the Fall two years ago. Please find Ms. Farron guilty of kidnapping and child endangerment. Thank you."

Nooj sits, and the judge turns her head slightly towards Maechen. The old lawyer returns to his feet, knees creaking as he stands.

"Your Honor… I am Maechen Ronsenburg, representing… Miss Claire… Farron… in this case. It is my intention… to prove… Miss Farron in fact rescued… the Professor's son… I shall prove to this court… that Miss Farron acted with responsibility… taking in a child she believed… orphaned… by the tragic events… which led to Cocoon's fall… two years ago. Please… find Miss Farron… not guilty. Thank you."

Maechen sits, and the the judge glances down at the bench in front of her.

"Attorney Nooj, you may call your first witness."

"Your Honor, the prosecution calls Hope Estheim to the stand."

Hope's face pales as he hears his name, shoulders stiffening with anxiety as he stands and squeezes past me towards the center aisle. He's practically shaking as he walks towards the slightly raised box just to the right of the judge's bench. Before he can be seated, the baliff swears him to honesty on a copy of the Sanctum's Scriptures.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

"I swear." Hope's voice is soft, uncertain, but he's allowed to enter the witness stand to sit.

Nooj approaches the stand slowly, a predator stalking his prey.

"Can you state your name and age for the record?" the lawyer asks.

"Hope Estheim. Sixteen." Hope replies, then, as an after thought, "Sir."

"Thank you, Hope. And can you recall for us the events leading up to the Fall? Specifically, how you came to meet Ms. Farron?"

"We met because of the Purge, sir." Hope says. "My mom and I were in Bodhum when it happened, and we were forced onto the train. Light… I mean, Ms. Farron… was one of the people who rescued us."

"And how did Ms. Farron rescue you?"

"She fought the soldiers that kept us on the train."

"And then what did Ms. Farron do?"

"She went after the Vestige. To try to rescue Serah. Her sister."

"So she rescued you and your mother, and then left you all alone? Defenseless? While you and the other refugees were being shot at?"

"No!" Hope replied. "I mean, yes, but it wasn't…"

"What happened to your mother while Ms. Farron went off to rescue her sister?"

"She… she tried to fight off the soldiers." Hope's voice is on the verge of cracking, but he somehow holds it together.

"I'm sure she fought admirably, Hope, but we both know she wasn't a soldier. What happened to her?"

"She… was shot. She died."

The prosecutor turns on his heel, facing the court room dramatically. "Let's give Ms. Farron the benefit of the doubt. She tried to rescue you and your mother. She can hardly be blamed for abandoning you when she tried to rescue her sister. What happened after your mother died?"

"I… went to the Vestige."

"Surely the Vestige was crawling with cieth? Were you alone?"

"No, a friend was with me." Hope replies. "She's… she's part of the pillar, now."

"And the two of you made your way to the fal'cie?"

"We… we met Snow and Light… just outside the antechamber. Serah was there, but she turned to crystal almost as soon as we saw her."

"Who decided to confront the fal'cie?"

"I… I don't remember." Hope stutters. "Snow and Light… they were both upset. I tried to run away, but the fal'cie shut the door to the chamber before I could leave…"

"You were forced to fight, weren't you?"

"I…"

"Did Ms. Farron tell you that she would protect you at any time during this adventure, or did you follow her blindly out of fear?"

"No, but I…"

"To be clear: Ms. Farron rescued you from a detainment train only for your mother to be killed, then she proceeded to lead you into a fal'cie vestige to be branded a l'cie, after which she led you to hold your own father hostage, not to mention the numerous life-threatening situations she and her cohorts placed you in when they managed to fly you to - of all places - Pulse. Did Ms. Farron at any point turn to you and say that she would take care of you?"

"Well, no, but…"

"I have no further questions."

Hope stares after Nooj's back, eyes wide and mouth gaping slightly, just as surprised as the rest of us at just how quickly and acutely the prosecutor has painted Lightning as a thoughtless, reckless monster.

It hadn't been her fault that the Purge had begun: if anyone could be blamed for that mess, it'd been Serah's curious exploring of the Bodhum Vestige that had made her a l'cie, and when she'd been discovered, the Sanctum swooped in to erase the problem by sequestering anyone who might've come into contact with the vestige, including Hope and his mom who'd only been vacationing in the village. And if anyone could be blamed for Hope's mother dying, it was partially Nora's own fault for choosing to fight, but shouldn't most of the blame rest on the Sanctum itself, for having tried to Purge Bodhum in the first place?

* * *

 

 


End file.
